Nobility Defined
by JazzGirl0608
Summary: This is a closer look into the past of our favorite knight, Gwaine. We all know that Gwaine's father was a knight; that he had a mother, but did you know that he had a twin sister? This is their story and how nobility is more than a title.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic. Please be nice in your reviews as I am not only new to this but also a new writer. I do not own Merlin or any of its characters. Please enjoy.**

**Summery: This is a closer look into the past of our favorite knight, Gwaine. We all know that Gwaine's father was a knight, that he had a mother, but did you know that he had a twin sister? This is their story.**

**The first few chapters will be set before Gwaine meets Arthur and Merlin. After then it will be set after season 3.**

**Nobility Defined **

There was a village that was beyond Camelot's borders. The village was mostly a farming community, but there were other trades such as blacksmiths, tailors, and there was a physician. In the fields outside the village there was a young woman, she was different than the other girls in the village. She was not thinking of marriage, or of what dress she would be making for the harvest festival. She was focused, she was a fighter.

It was just her and her twin brother against the world. They had been born into a world of knights and lady's of court, but they had never known this life. Their father had been a great and respected knight; he was a good man and cared for his family. The king made him a trusted knight of the kingdom and their mother was a beautiful lady in the court. When she became pregnant their father was joyful. He wanted to make a family and have a life with them, to teach his son the ways of a knight, or to protect his daughter and let her mother teach here the ways of a lady. Sadly, this was never meant to be. Shortly after he held his son and daughter for the first time, war came to the land. While the battle was won, his life was lost. With their father's death their mother had no source of money. She went to the king thinking surely the king would aid the wife of a trusted knight. But the king turned her away. So she took her young children and went to a village to create a new life for them. She was happy there, with her son and daughter. They were happy there too, they knew of what their life could have been and it made no difference to them. They were noble in character instead.

The girl was named Amora; she took after her mother in beauty but had the skill and strength of her father. Her and her brother looked a great deal alike, but being a woman she had a slender frame and was a few inches shorter than her older brother. Her dark brown hair was long and wavy, but she almost never let it down, she usually had her hair pulled to the side of her neck and it was tied with a leather strap. This is how she liked it, it was easy and it stayed out of her way when she was training with her brother or hunting with him. She rarely wore dresses, she owned some and would wear them on occasion but she preferred to wear pants and a blouse. Though she preferred men's clothing she tailored them to look feminine and what she wore today was beautiful. She wore brown pants with tan boots that went just below her knees. She wore a fitted dark green blouse with long sleeves and a modest neckline. She had made leather wrist guards to wear and had a leather belt tied loosely around her waist that held her sword. She wore a necklace around her neck that was their family crest pressed onto a piece of silver that was shaped like a dragons scale. Her brother had the same but it held their mothers wedding ring as well.

After their mother had died he had placed it around his necklace to give to a woman when he decided to marry, but for now he wore it as a reminder of the woman who had loved him and his sister; raised them knowing noble character and taught them to love and look after each other before everything else. His name was Gwaine, and he was a good man who knew how to fight better than any man in the village. He had dark brown hair that went just past his jaw line; he had a chiseled face with some scruff on his face that made him look rugged but handsome as well. He was strong and tall, he wore usual men's attire but he wore a sword and wrist guard at all times because he liked to fight and trouble seemed to find him where ever he was. The only difference that him and his sister held in their looks were their eyes, his were a deep brown and hers were dark green with specks of gold. They were their mothers' eyes and he loved that she inherited that feature. She was a beautiful woman and men would try to ask for her hand but to no avail. She didn't want to marry and Gwaine glad for this. She was all he had in the world and he would die to protect her, and Amora would to the same for him.

Amora stood in the field overlooking the village and held the reins on her horse. They were leaving the village. Gwaine and she had decided after their mother had died a few years ago that when they had learned to defend themselves and live alone they would leave the village and travel to distant lands. Gwaine had already known how to fight, learning from the blacksmith and some of the retired soldiers in the village. His concern was teaching Amora to fight, however she learned quickly and proved to be a good match for him, even beating him on several occasions. She reminded him of this at any chance and enjoyed seeing a look of annoyance and pride in his face.

Gwaine was coming up the hill to where his sister stood; he was riding his horse and was ready to leave. They had packed clothes and a few family belongings on the back of their horses and had said goodbye to their friends in the village.

"What took you so long, Gwaine? I have been waiting up here for almost an hour; did you kiss every girl in the village goodbye?" Amora was smiling at her brother, knowing his reputation with the ladies in the village. Gwaine just rolled his eyes "Not every girl, just close too. What took me so long was going through the house and making sure that we packed everything we needed. Which brought be to finding your cloak still hanging on the wall." He held out her long brown cloak to her and she placed it on her shoulders. "I knew I had forgotten something." she said. She climbed up onto her horse with ease and settled into her saddle.

They turned behind them and looked at their home one last time; Gwaine turned to the road ahead of them and kicked his horse into a trot. He called back "Rora, come on." Amora turned at the name her brother had called her since they were children, kicked her horse into a pace beside her brother and they left the life they had known. They were eager to discover a new life for themselves and were ready for any adventure that came their way. Little did they know that destiny would take them down a road neither of them expected and that they were about to have the hardest journey of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

**For those who read this thank you. I promise that the next few chapters will be much more interesting with some action thrown in. I hope you enjoy and please review so I can get better.**

It had been several weeks since Gwaine and Amora had left their village. They had traveled far and were taking a few days to rest. It was early in the morning, mist was hovering over the ground beneath the surrounding trees and the fire Gwaine had built was no longer burning.

Gwaine opened his eyes as he heard a snap in the distance; he sat up and looked to where Amora was still sleeping. If she was still asleep then that meant something or someone was near them. He grabbed his sword and stood up slowly so as to not make any noise.

He began to walk carefully in the direction that he heard the noise, his sword ready for attack. They had encountered a few bandits in their journey but they were both skilled enough to take them down without any harm to themselves. As he heard another snap to his left he turned and stood behind a tree, hiding from whatever was coming toward him. As the sound grew closer he drew up his sword and took a slow breath.

When the sound was right beside him he swung out from where he was hiding and struck at his attacker. Only, it wasn't a bandit like he thought it was. This was much bigger, it had the head of an eagle but the body of a lion; its wings were stretched and it had claws drawn, ready to kill whoever stood in its path.

Gwaine yelled and struck his sword at the beast, only to have it shatter into pieces when it met its mark. He knew little of magic but he knew that creatures of magic were nothing to mess around with. The beast drew back its' paw and struck at Gwaine with claws drawn. Gwaine grabbed his shoulder in pain and fell to the ground; he began to back up as the beast came to strike again. He rolled as the beast struck the ground where he was and he hoped to his feet.

Gwaine ran as fast as he could back to the camp where his sister had woken and the sound of his yell. She stood with her sword drawn; ready to attack, but she did not see her brother.

"Gwaine!" she yelled, she knew that he was in danger where ever he was, and she could feel it.

"Gwaine, where are you?" She tried again. Nothing but silence returned her answer.

"AMORA!" She turned to where she heard his voice, he never called her by her full name unless he was angry at her or she was in danger. Something was defiantly wrong.

She started to run to where she thought he was and was greeted by Gwaine running over toward her, fear etched on his face.

"Rora, get to the horses now!" He was running quickly and she knew to do as she was told. She ran back to the camp and got up onto her horse quickly; she grabbed the reins to Gwaine's horse and rode back to where he was.

She made it to him and handed him the reins to his horse. He struggled to grab hold of his saddle to climb on and was still fighting to get in when the beast came through the trees.

"What is that?" Amora yelled. She had never seen something so terrifying. She understood the fear in her brother's face now.

"It's magic, we have to leave now!" Gwaine answered. He finely got onto his horse and they rode away from the beast as fast as their horses would carry them.

The beast did not chase after them, but they rode on to get as far away from it as possible. After a while they finally slowed their horses down and rode slowly to catch their breath.

Gwaine grabbed his shoulder, the beast had scratched him badly and he was bleeding. He did not mention this to Amora though; he did not want to worry her. It would probably stop bleeding in a moment, he thought.

"Well, that was fun." Amora was smiling now and turned to look at her brother.

"Yea, though I don't think I want to do that again anytime soon." He said.

"Do you know what that was Gwaine?" she asked.

"No idea, whatever that creature was it was powerful. My sword shattered when I struck it." He deeply regretted that now, the only other weapon he had was a dagger.

"Well that's good to know, looks like I will be the defender from now on." Amora joked; she sat up a little straighter on her horse and held her head high. Gwaine just looked at her; she looked back and started to laugh. Gwaine tried to be serious but he could never do so when his sister laughed. He began to laugh as hard as she was until he jarred his shoulder. He held back a cry of pain but instead heard another.

"OH!" Amora was clutching her shoulder and had a look of pain on her face.

"Rora, are you alright?" He was concerned; he didn't notice that she had been hurt.

"It's my shoulder, it just started to hurt. Odd though, I don't remember hurting it." Gwaine began to pale, not this again, he thought. When they were children they were playing in the fields when Gwaine tripped on a rock and hit his head. Amora was behind him and had not fallen but had felt his pain. They both were in bed for two days after the incident with horrible headaches. Gwaine had to get stitches to close the wound, but even though Amora had not wound she was still in as much pain as he was. The physician had told their mother that in rare cases with twins, they could feel each other's emotions. Ever since then they could feel the others pain, fears, and joy. While this came in handy sometimes, it was bad when the other was trying to hide something. Gwaine knew that she would figure it out.

"Gwaine, were you hurt?" Amora asked, she looked at her brother and knew what his answer would be.

"The beast scratched my shoulder, but it is not that bad." Gwaine said, still trying to hid the fact that he was bleeding and in terrible pain.

"You're lying! Damn it, Gwaine. We are supposed to look out for each other, how can we do that if you won't tell me when you are hurt. Let me look at it." She said, this is so like him, she thought. Gwaine never like to let on when he was hurt, always trying to be the tough man, but she always knew when he was hurt.

They stopped on the road and got off their horses. Gwaine went and sat under a tree nearby while Amora got some bandages from her sack.

"Take of your shirt." She ordered.

"Rora it's not that bad, really." He was still trying to convince her everything was fine.

"Shut up and take it off." She was standing over him now looking very angry. He knew the fight was lost.

"Fine." He began to take of his shirt and winced a bit when he had to move his shoulder.

"You're bleeding Gwaine! This is not alright." She was angry and Gwaine knew it. He would be angry at her if she had kept something like this to herself. She started to bandage up his wound and soon the bleeding had stopped.

"There" She said "That should be fine until we get to a village and have you checked out by a physician." She stood up to walk back to the horses; she offered her hand to Gwaine and helped him stand up. As she turned to walk away he grabbed her arm.

"Rora, wait." He said. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you." He looked at her and gave her a small smile.

As much as Amora wanted to stay angry at him she could never resist his smile, it always made her feel better.

"I know that you want to be the man here and not worry me, but I will always worry about you Gwaine. You always find yourself in trouble and I cannot lose you. You are all I have left and I mean to keep you around for a long time." She said.

Gwaine pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I know that, I can't lose you either. I will do anything to protect you, even if I hide a little scratch from you, I only do it to keep you from worrying." He looked down at her and smiled, she meant so much to him. He would die to keep her safe.

Amora patted his arm. "Come on, let's get moving, we need to make it to the next village before dark."

They headed back to their horses and were ready to leave. As Amora started to climb onto her horse an arrow whirled past her head and landed in the tree behind her.

"Amora, behind you!" Gwaine called.

She turned to see and large group of bandits running toward them. She unsheathed her sword just as the first bandit took a swing at her. She blocked his blow and matched him in strength. They continued to fight as another bandit ran at Gwaine.

He reached for his sword only to remember that his was gone. He ducked as the man took a swing at him and rolled toward his horse. He got up and grabbed the dagger out of him bag and stood ready to fight him.

The man laughed at him and raised his sword to strike. Gwaine blocked his blow with his dagger and shoved him back, he took a stab at the man but the other man was quick. The bandit turned and missed the stab. He quickly punched Gwaine's shoulder where blood was starting to show through his shirt. Gwaine cried out in pain and dropped his dagger.

Amora was fighting well, she had killed the first bandit and another had come at her. She blocked him as well and was about to strike at him when she heard her brothers cry. She felt the pain in her shoulder and turned behind her to see a man about to run Gwaine through. She ran toward him and knocked the man over just before he was about to strike. But she was no match for him, he was much stronger than her and he struck her hard in the face and was knocked off of the man.

Her vision was getting blurry and she could feel blood running down her face. When she finally focused she saw the man standing above her with his sword above her ready to strike. She closed her eyes and waited for the sword to run her through but instead something much heavier landed on top of her.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Gwaine shielding her as the sword pierced his flesh.

"NO!" She cried as she rolled Gwaine off of her.

She crouched over him "Gwaine! What were you thinking?" She applied pressure to his wound as blood seeped through her fingers. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, she could not lose him.

"I had to protect you." He said, he looked at her and smiled.

"You need to hang on, keep pressure on your wound and I will get rid of the…NO!" The man who had struck her brother had grabbed her from behind and was pulling her away from her brother.

"AMORA!" Gwaine tried to get up but another bandit came up and kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

"GWAINE! NO! Let go of me you bastard! I will kill you! Let Go." She kicked and screamed but no matter how hard she tried she could not break free from his grasp.

"Knock her out, Jaal" the man who kicked Gwaine said. The next thing Amora knew her attacker had turned her to face him and he punched her again. She fell to the ground and tried to crawl back to her brother but her vision was going dark and the ground kept moving. She looked up toward her brother and saw that he was not moving. She finally could not fight anymore and darkness took her.

That was the last time they saw each other. Amora thought her brother was dead and Gwaine would search for years for his sister. Traveling from town to town asking about the bandits who had taken his only family. Each time he was told that no one knew of them he would head to the nearest pub and drink.

It would be 5 years before destiny would reunite them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Everyone! I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I know where I want this story to go but I was having a hard time deciding how Gwaine should reunite with his sister. I hope that you like the way this turned out. Anyway, here is chapter three. It's a little long but I wanted to give you a good chapter to make up for not updating. **

**Thanks for the reviews I hope to hear some more feed back soon. Draegan88 thanks so much for what you said in your review. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters.**

Arthur looked to the group of men behind him, the Knights of the Round Table is what they decided to call themselves. They were going on patrol to the outlining borders of the kingdom. There had been reports of a group of bandits who were attacking travelers as they came into the kingdom. Some would escape, some were killed, and some were taken and sold to a slave trader.

Even though Arthur had taken on more responsibility since his father's breakdown he wanted to take his best men to find out what was really going on at the border. His knights were ready to follow him and this pleased Arthur, it reassured him that he had made the right decision in making these "commoners" knights.

To Arthur though these men were nobler than some men that he had known who were born with that right. He was reminded of a saying that Gwaine had once said, "Nobility is defined by what you do, not by who you are." He was quite impressed with Gwaine; he had been since they met. The man was a skilled fighter yet he had no proper training like Arthur. He could beat some of his best knights yet was still humble about it. He was loyal, although Arthur wondered sometimes if he was here for Merlin more than Arthur. He was willing to help anyone no matter the circumstance. And then he would go the tavern and out drink any man there. Arthur knew that there had to be more to Gwaine than what he saw on the surface, yet he didn't know what it was. He hoped that one day he would hear Gwaines' story but he knew that day would be a long time from now.

They had been riding hard all day and it was beginning to tire the men out. Merlin, as always, was the one who complained about it the most.

"Arthur, why are we going on this ridiculous mission again? You're the Regent of Camelot; you should be there, sending men out to do this for you. But no, you have to be a royal prat and head up this mission yourself." He was shifting in his saddle and was shooting daggers out his eyes at the back of Arthurs head.

"_Mer_lin, would you stop complaining and just follow orders for once?" Arthur was rolling his eyes, when would Merlin ever understand to shut up.

"Nah, you'd get bored." Merlin had a crooked grin on his face when Arthur turned to glare at him.

"Merlin." He said.

"Yes, _Sire._" Merlin knew what was coming next.

"Shut up." He turned back in his saddle and kept riding.

Sir Leon was riding beside Arthur, "Sire, for once I do have to agree with Merlin. This is not your place anymore. It is too dangerous for you to be going out on missions with your father in his current condition.'

Arthur turned to his oldest knight, he knew that Leon was right but he just could not admit it. His father had changed since Morganas' betrayal. He was mentally and physically broken. Under guidance from the council, Arthur was appointed to Prince Regent. He now had more responsibility in Camelot and it was hard. He missed being able to go out on patrols with his men, he missed being able to hunt when he felt like it. The reason he decided to see to this mission himself was so that he could let loose a little. While he knew it was dangerous for the leader of Camelot to go searching for bandits he was determined to prove that he was able to do it.

"I know that Leon. But this is something I have to do and I don't need to be reminded of how dangerous it is, that's Merlins' job." He told him.

"Yes, Sire." Leon said. He knew Arthur well enough to know that he was not mad at him, he was just annoyed. The group was almost to the last location where the bandits had attacked. Arthur held up his hand for the men to be silent and they rode quietly down the path. They did not want to fight the bandits yet. Arthur wanted to see what their numbers were first and what they were doing exactly. He pulled his horse to a stop as they came to a split in the path and the men did the same.

Quietly Arthur said to them, "Remember we are observing them first. We will split up and ride ahead to see if they have a camp nearby then we will meet back at this spot. Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival you take the road to the left. Leon, Elyan, Merlin, and I will take the road to the right. Be quiet and be quick." The group split and were heading down their paths. After they had rode a ways Arthur signaled for them to stop. They got off their horses and followed Arthur off the path.

"Arthur, what are we doing?" Merlin asked.

"We don't want to be riding on the road when we are not trying to be spotted, do we _Mer_lin." Really, he had no idea how Merlin did not know these things.

They tied their horses to some trees and continued on foot. They had walked a ways when they heard a rebel cry in the distance ahead of them. The knights unsheathed their swords and ran toward the sounds of swords clashing. They came to a hill that overlooked the road below and all of them were shocked at the sight before them.

There was a group of about ten bandits going against four knights protecting a lady in the middle of them. She had her sword drawn and was in a fighting stance, her body turning following the fight that was happening around her. To her left one of the knights was run through and two of the bandits rushed toward her. She turned to face them and blocked the first blow. She parried every strike and made several moves against her attackers. She had her sword raised; blocking a strike from one of the men when the other swung his sword at her, she moved to avoid the blow but her arm was cut when his blade came down on her. With a small cry she pulled back, the look of anger on her face was both terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

With a yell she ran at the man, he was surprised by this and lost focus, with a flick of her sword around his, he was watching his sword fly into the air and be caught by her free hand. She crossed both swords in front of her chest and swung them apart across the bandits' body. He fell and was dead in seconds. She turned to the other man and was beating him quickly. He soon fell as she ran him through.

Arthur was too shocked to move, this woman took out two bandits like it was nothing. Leon was stunned to say the least as his mouth hung open. Elyan was watching with awe as she handled swords better than most men. Merlin though saw something else. She seemed so familiar not only in her appearance but in the way she fought, he had only seen one other person flick a sword out of an opponent's hand like that and that was Gwaine. Now that he thought about it, she resembled him quite a bit. She had long dark brown hair that fell in waves down her back. She had the same pointed features and smirk on her face. Merlin thought this had to be a coincidence though, as far as he knew Gwaine was an only child. He put the thought out of his head as the shock of what was happening began to wear off.

The bandits outnumbered the knights below and while four of the bandits had fallen, so had three of the knights. It was just the lady and one other knight fighting off six bandits. Soon the lady and the knight were back to back as they became surrounded by the bandits.

Arthur shook out of his shock and sprang into action. With a cry he ran down the hill with Leon and Elyan behind him. They attacked the bandits and soon the fight was on again. Between the knights of Camelot and the skill of the other knight and the lady they had killed all but two bandits. They turned and ran up the road and were out of sight in moments.

The group stood panting as the adrenaline of battle began to wear off. Arthur turned to his right and got a good look at the woman who had been fighting with them. She wore a long light blue silk dress with lavender flowers sewn around the waist and collar. She wore a belt that held her sword and a dark blue velvet cloak. She wore a pendent shaped like a dragons scale. She was beautiful; she had long dark wavy hair and deep green eyes. She reminded Arthur of someone, but he could not place who it was.

The knight who was with her extended his hand toward Arthur, "Thank you. We owe you our lives. I am Sir Tristan, and this is the Lady Amora." He shook hands with Arthur and took a step back.

"I'm Prince Arthur of Camelot." He answered; then he introduced the rest of the men. "This is Sir Leon, Sir Elyan, and Merlin. And I must say, my lady, you are one of the best I have ever seen with a sword."

Amora smiled "Thank you, Your Highness. And please, I preferred to be called Amora."

"And you can call me Arthur. If you don't mind we can escort you to where you are heading. I'm sure you could use a few more men now."

"Actually, we are on our way to Camelot. We are seeking refuge and were told to see King Uther, that he would help us." Amora said.

"Sadly the King is in no condition to meet with anyone, but I can assure your safety and you are welcome to stay in Camelot as long as you need." Arthur replied.

"Thank you." Sir Tristan said, "But I think that we should move away from here before those two men return with more."

They had no time to bury the bodies, so they moved them to the side of the road. Amora and Tristan grabbed the reins on their horses and followed Arthur and the knights back to where they had left their horses. Once they were there they began to mount their horses. Amora grabbed her saddle to pull herself up when a sharp pain shot through her arm. She let out a small cry and grabbed her arm.

Tristan was concerned and ran toward her "Amora, were you hurt?"

"It's nothing, it's just a scratch." She hated being fussed over.

"My lady, may I look at it?" Merlin asked, she nodded and he pulled open the cut in her sleeve, the wound was about three inches long and was bleeding. "I can bandage it for now, but it will need stitches when we get back to Camelot."

"We have the finest court physician in Camelot; Merlin is his ward and has studied under him." Arthur said. "He knows what to do for now to care for your arm."

"Thank you, I appreciate all you have done for us." Merlin bandaged up her arm and Tristan helped her onto her horse.

As they rode back to the meeting spot Merlin turned to Amora "I noticed your pendent, it's very unique."

She touched the pendent gently, "It is, there were only two that were made."

"I have seen that same pendent somewhere before." Merlin was trying so hard to remember where he had seen the other.

"I'm sure you are mistaken, the only other person to have this pendent is dead. It's a family heirloom; it has my family crest pressed into the silver. It is all that I have left of my family." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry. What happened to your family?" Merlin asked.

"My father was a knight in Carl eons' Army. He was killed in battle shortly after my brother and I were born. My mother had no money so she went to the King to ask for help and he turned her away. We moved to a village where we stayed for many years. A few years after my mother died my brother and I left the village to travel to distant lands. However shortly after we started our journey we were attacked by a group of bandits. My brother took a sword for me; the bandits took me and left my brother bleeding to death on the road." She held the pendent and looked sadly at Merlin.

Merlin looked back at her. Her story seemed so familiar, he had heard the first part somewhere before. He was about to ask more about her story when Arthur spoke up.

"How is it that you escaped the bandits?"

"A patrol of Carleons men came across us the next day, I managed to kill the man who killed my brother in the fight. A few of the bandits ran off and I was taken to the castle by the knights. One of the knights recognized my pendent; my father had worn one identical to this. My father had saved his life in battle once and they became close friends. He took me in and introduced me to the court with the title I was born with. I had never gone by my title, neither did my brother. We were raised away from court so we knew nothing of the life we were born into." Amora had told her story to only a few, but she trusted this group that she was with and felt no hesitation in telling them the truth.

They were almost to the meeting spot when Merlin realized where he had seen the pendent. "Amora, I have seen that pendent before, only it has a gold ring with it as well."

Amora paled, it couldn't be. "Where did you see it?" she asked eagerly.

"My friend wears it; he's one of Arthurs knights." Clearly he had said something that upset her.

Before she had a chance to ask another question they meet up with the rest of the knights at the meeting spot. Lancelot, Gwaine, and Percival had been waiting for a while and were starting to worry when Gwaine saw Arthur riding toward them.

"Finally, the princess decided to show up. We were getting worried my friend." Gwaine said.

Lancelot looked to make sure that everyone was safe and he saw a beautiful girl riding beside Merlin and a knight behind them. "What happened?"

Leon answered "We came across the bandits as they were attacking the lady and some knights."

"How many were there" Percival asked

"Ten bandits but I think they have more, two of them escaped and ran up the road. We didn't follow them because we wanted to make sure our new friends made it to Camelot safely." Arthur said. They looked to the lady and knight who had rode up to the group, as Gwaine saw the lady he paled. "Let me introduce to you Sir Tristan and the Lady..."

"Rora?" Gwaine had gotten off his horse and was looking at the lady like he was seeing a ghost. His friends were looking between him and the lady, confusion etched on their faces.

Amora slid off her horse and walked toward him. "Gwaine? Is it really you? You were bleeding when they took me, I thought you were dead."

They were standing face to face now, the similarity between them was striking, and the only difference between them was their eyes. The knights were confused, who was this woman and why did she look so much like Gwaine?

She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back. Gwaine was laughing and Amora had tears in her eyes. They stayed like that for a long time until Arthur cleared his throat loudly.

"Gwaine, I take it you two know each other?"

"My friends, I'm sorry. Allow me to introduce my twin sister, Amora."

The knights were speechless, Gwaine had a sister? And how was she a Lady when Gwaine was only knighted a few months ago?

Arthur starred at his knight; he wanted to hear Gwaine explain this one.

**I'm sorry that it is such a long chapter I just couldn't find the right place to stop, I wanted to reunite them in this chapter so badly. I hope that you enjoyed it there will be more to come. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is the next chapter. I hope that you enjoyed how Gwaine and Amora were reunited. Please review and let me know what you think.**

**Chapter 4**

The Knights of the Round Table could not stop starring. They were stunned that Gwaine had a beautiful sister; who was somehow a noble. Gwaine still had his arm around Amora and it seemed like he did not intend to let go for a very long time. Amora was looking at the men around her and took in their stunned expressions.

"Did you never tell them you had a sister?" She asked

"Ah, well, no. See these past few months have been hectic and I didn't really see it as a fit time to say, hey mates I have a twin sister who was taken by a group of bandits." He looked at her and gave her a smile.

Amora began to laugh "I can see how that would be a strange topic to discuss for no reason."

They began to laugh as the knights began to come out of their shock. Merlin was the first to say anything. He had gotten off his horse and was walking toward them.

"I knew you reminded me of someone Amora. You both look a great deal alike you know."

Amora smiled and looked at Merlin "Well, hopefully not too much alike, I like to think I got the better looks." She playfully jabbed Gwaine in the side as she said this.

"Hey, who's to say that I'm not better looking?" He said.

"We do." Lancelot said.

"Aw, that's just not fair mate. You haven't seen her in the morning, a troll would look better." He didn't even have time to move as Amora swung her fist into his stomach.

"Oi, I was only joking Rora." He was grabbing his stomach as Amora stood above him looking rather pleased with herself.

"We like her Gwaine; she puts you in your place." Elyan was laughing at the exchange happening in front of him.

"She's been doing that since we were children." He said.

"Well, if I didn't who knows what trouble you would have caused. Are you going to introduce your friends or not?" She was looking at the men in front of her; they looked like they were accepting this news rather well.

Gwaine was grinning from ear to ear; he had really missed her banter.

"Amora, I would like for you to meet my friends. This is Sir Percival and Sir Lancelot. I trust that you have already met the others." He looked at Arthur, he still had a look that was somewhere between confusion and anger.

"Yes, we met a while ago, had it not been for them we would not have survived. Gwaine, this is Sir Tristan. He has been with me through many trials and is a dear friend." She looked at Tristan as he got off his horse and walked over to Gwaine and shook his hand.

"It is an honor to meet you, Amora has told me of you many times."

"Has she now, well I hope it was nothing too bad." He gave his sister a grin.

"She spoke nothing but kindly of you. Amora, if you will allow it, I will head back to Mercia now. You seem to be in good hands and I need to get back to Lord Bayard quickly. I'm sure they need help tracking down Raglend and his men." Amora took hold of his arm.

"You can't go alone Tristan, it's too dangerous. Raglend will have known you helped me escape, if he finds you he will kill you." Gwaine was watching the exchange, he wondered if there was something more their relationship than just a knight protecting a lady.

"I have faced worse dangers than him. Arthur, will you and your men escort Amora back to Camelot?" He trusted these men to protect Amora, he did not love her in a romantic way, but he would do anything to ensure her safety.

"Of course." Arthur replied

"Sire, what about the mission." Sir Leon asked

"The mission can wait. We will escort Lady Amora to Camelot and then return to our mission." Arthur knew that this mission was important but he wanted to make sure that Amora was not involved.

"If you show me the way I can ride back to Camelot alone." Amora did not want to get in the way of the mission they were on. She did not expect the knights to be so against her idea; she could hardly make out what they were saying.

"NO."

"It's not safe for a lady."

"Absolutely not."

"That is not the wisest idea my lady."

"No way."

She jumped at the quick replies and sharp tone as they gave their objections. They obviously did not want her to travel alone. Gwaine especially was opposed to this.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. His face showed no sign of his usual humor. "Rora, I do not want to risk the chance of losing you again."

"You know that I am capable of defending myself. You taught me well and I have learned more with the knights in Mercia. I don't want to distract you from your mission." She had been on many quests with the knights in Mercia and had done well. Lord Bayard was quite impressed with how well she fought and made her a kind of knight. She would accompany the ladies of court when they left the citadel as a protector. Bandits never expected her to fight as well as she did so they were caught off guard. She had done well and had earned favor with Bayard.

"No. We will take you back to Camelot, that's final." Gwaine smiled at her but the seriousness was still in his eyes. Amora sighed; she knew her battle was lost.

"Alright, on one condition." She gave him a crooked grin and waited for his reply.

"What?" He knew there was something turning in her head.

"I get to fight you. We have not fought in many years and I want to put you on your backside." She knew he would not refuse.

Gwaine laughed, he had missed fighting with her; she was a good challenge. "Alright, once we set up camp we will fight."

The Percival and Lancelot were a little surprised that this was her condition and even more surprised when Gwaine agreed. Arthur, Merlin, Leon, and Elyan though were smiling and were eager to see the outcome of it.

Amora turned to Tristan "Please be safe on your journey."

"I will send word when I reach home. You have been an excellent leader Amora, you will be missed greatly." He took her hand and kissed it. "Until we meet again Lady Amora."

She curtsied to him "Until we meet again Sir Tristan."

"Prince Arthur, it was an honor to meet you. And thank you for giving Amora a home in Camelot." He bowed to Arthur.

"It's no trouble. Ride Safe." He replied

Tristan mounted his horse; he turned to look at Amora once more and rode off down the road.

Amora was watching him as he rode off. He had been her friend for many years. He had been one of the knights who had rescued her, since that day they were very close. He had become her closest friend. The fact that they were parting ways had not fully set in. She had been with him almost every day since arriving in Mercia. Once the reality set in she was sure she would be sad, but right now she was just happy to have found Gwaine alive.

Gwaine came up and put his arm around her. "Is he a man I should worry about?" He smiled at her and pulled her close.

"No. We have been nothing more than friends. He helped rescue me and we have been close ever since." She replied.

"Let's move out, I want to set up camp before it gets dark." Arthur began to ride down the road, back to Camelot. The knights, Merlin and Amora all mounted their horses and followed Arthur.

Merlin rode beside Arthur, Lancelot and Leon behind them, Gwaine and Amora, then Percival and Elyan. As they rode Merlin looked to Arthur, he looked troubled. Merlin was defiantly surprised by the news that Gwaine had a sister but he understood his reasons for not telling them. Gwaine was a man who said what was needed, and no one needed to know that his sister had been taken from him. He was happy for his friend though, Gwaine needed someone to put him in his place and it seemed like Amora was just the one to do it. Arthur cleared his throat, "Did you know about Gwaine?"

"I didn't know about his sister." He didn't want to tell Arthur that Gwaine was a noble; it was not his secret to share.

"Amora said her father was a knight. That she and her brother are noble but never went by titles. That means that Gwaine lied to me. He neglected to tell me who he really was. Did you know that Merlin?" He was on the verge of anger, but more than that he was hurt.

Merlin shifted in his saddle. "Arthur, I think you should talk to Gwaine about this."

"Damn it Merlin, did you know or not?" Arthur kept his voice down but the power was still there.

Merlin paused for a bit, he didn't want to tell Arthur but he could not refuse to answer either. "He told me."

Arthur turned back to the road ahead of him, trying to calm down. He trusted Gwaine, he made him a knight. But Gwaine should have been a knight already. Why didn't he tell Arthur who he really was? Arthur hated to admit it but Merlin was right, he needed to talk to Gwaine. He would wait until tonight, but he would hear Gwaines' story sooner than he thought.

Behind him Gwaine and Amora were finding out what had really happened after they were separated. Gwaine told her how he was found by druids and they nursed him back to health. Once he was able to move on he went to ever town from Angard to the Perilous Lands trying to find word on the bandits who took her. He told her of how he met Arthur and Merlin. How he told Merlin about their father and how Merlin was his closest friend. He mentioned about what happened with Morgana and how he had become a knight.

Amora was proud of Gwaine; he seemed to have really grown up since the last time they were together. Even though he was a few minutes older than her he was always the one acting like a child. Now he was a knight, like their father. She knew him well enough to know that he would not have taken the title unless he felt he was truly noble. Not just by blood, but in character as well. She felt the same way.

She told him how the bandits had intended to sell her to a slave trader named Raglend. How a patrol of knights had found their camp and upon seeing her tied to a tree raided the camp to rescue her. She told him how as soon as she was free she grabbed a sword and hunted down the bandit who had supposedly killed him. They fought and ultimately she put her sword through his chest. The knights were impressed by her strength and fighting ability, one in particular recognized her pendent and knew who she really was. Sir Geoffrey took her to Lord Bayard and told him who she really was and she was taken into the court. Sir Geoffrey's wife taught her how to be a lady and treated her as her own daughter. Sir Geoffrey told Lord Bayard how well she fought and Bayard had her duel Tristan. She won and Bayard was so impressed that he had her train with the knights and made her a protector for the ladies of court.

Then she told him how Raglend began to hunt her down, the man that she had killed was his brother. There were rumors through Mercia that he was looking for a woman who fought like a knight. Soon word reached him that she was a lady in court. About three weeks ago he attacked a patrol, brutally killing every man. He left a note saying that if Bayard delivered her to him no more men would be killed. Bayard did not relent and one day when Amora was riding with some ladies and knights Raglend attacked. He killed two of the ladies and one of the knights. Those remaining barely escaped with their lives. After that Bayard knew that it was not safe for her to stay in Mercia, for her sake and for the sake of his people. He wrote a letter to Uther and gave it to her. She packed a few belongings and was escorted by some of Bayard's trusted knights. Then she told him what happened just before they were reunited.

Gwaine was speechless. She had been through so much, all because he could not protect her. "I'm sorry, Amora."

"Why are you sorry? What happened was not your fault. I never blamed you." She reached over and touched his arm. He placed his hand upon hers and smiled.

"Well, regardless of what happened I am glad that destiny has brought you back to me. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." She gave him a smile and turned back toward the road ahead.

After a few hours they set up camp. It was a good clearing with some trees and boulders surrounding it. They had collected firewood and had set out pads to sleep on. They laughed and shared stories together. Amora told some embarrassing stories of Gwaine when they were younger that had everyone roaring with laughter. The knights had asked Amora how she knew to fight and what had happened to separate the siblings. When things settled down Gwaine stood up and stretched.

"Rora, if you're ready I have a bargain to keep." He walked toward the edge of camp where there was enough clearing to fight.

"Are you sure you want me to beat you in front of your friends?" She asked.

"You know Gwaine you can back out; we will understand if you don't fight her." Percival teased.

"Oh no. I made a bargain and I stand by it." He twirled his sword in his hand and waited for his sister to come to him.

"Alright, I gave you a chance." She stood and took of her cloak. She began to tie her hair up with a leather strap that was tied to her belt. It was then that Gwaine noticed the bandage on her arm.

"What happened to your arm?" Concern laced his voice.

"Oh it's nothing, just a scratch. I can still beat you." She smiled as she took a fighting stance.

"I won't fight you if you're hurt."

"I told you it's nothing. Old rules apply?" She grinned at him; this was going to be fun.

"Best out of three." Gwaine took his stance and waited.

They circled each other for a bit then Gwaine made the first strike. He thrust at her and she twirled quickly out of his way; her sword bearing down on his. She swung her sword at his head and he rolled out of its path. They fought back and forth. The knights were impressed with how much strength she had. She matched him at every move and he did the same. She saw a boulder to her left and ran toward it. She jumped too it and pushed herself off it at the same time. Turning her body as she flew through the air so her sword was at Gwaines back. She placed her sword in his back.

"One to me brother." She smiled with pride.

"You've learned some new tricks I see. Let's see you beat me again though." He took his stance and waited.

This time Amora took the first strike, swinging her sword at his side he blocked it. He pushed her away from him and took a swing above her head. She braced herself and blocked his sword. She pushed his sword away and put her elbow in his gut. He took a second to catch his breath and moved just as she made a lunge to his chest. She turned and blocked his blow. This continued for a while, both dancing around each other. Amora swung her sword at his side and did not see his leg reach out to trip her. Before she knew it she was on the ground and his sword was at her chest.

"Keep your eyes open sis." He gave her a hand up and walked back to the clearing.

"Next round wins." She took her stance.

She made the first move again, swing toward his side, he rolled out of the way and took a swing at her. They fought for a few minutes before both had their swords held at each other's throats.

"It seems you both win." Merlin said. He was amazed; they were practically the same in their fighting style. Confident, strong, and very quick. The knights noticed this as well, she was just as good as any of them. Arthur was very impressed.

"Clearly you had a good teacher Amora." He said. While he was still upset with Gwaine, he could not deny that both Gwaine and his sister were two of the best warriors he had ever seen.

"We learned from each other." Gwaine said. "We would learn from our weaknesses and make them strengths."

"This is how we would settle arguments back home, mother hated it." Amora said. Both her and Gwaine set down their swords and sat by the fire.

They all talked a while longer before they decided to turn in for the night. They were still a day's ride from Camelot and Arthur was determined to make it there by nightfall. As they turned in one by one Merlin came and sat beside Amora.

"You must be glad to see Gwaine again." He said.

She looked to where her brother was standing guard. "For years I thought he was dead. To see him not only alive but a knight of Camelot brings me more joy than I can say." She turned to Merlin and smiled. She gave a small shiver, she was feeling very cold. Merlin saw this and put her cloak around her shoulders.

"Thank you." She said. "Gwaine told me about you. He said you were his closest friend and that he told you who he really was. You must be a great man to have earned his trust. Thank you for being a friend to him, I will never forget it."

"I'm glad that he trusted me, he's a great man and an even better knight. I'm lucky to have him as a friend."

They both looked at the fire for a while. Amora felt a small pain in her arm and winced. She didn't want to say anything but it was starting to hurt, and more than that it was starting to burn. She only hoped Gwaine would not feel it.

Merlin noticed this "How is your arm?"

She gave him a small smile. "It's just sore; my right arm was broken a few years ago in a fight. Ever since then it gets a little sore when I fight." She hoped he would by the lie; it wasn't completely a lie though. She did break it once, falling off a horse in training. But it never gave her any pain.

"Alright, please tell me though if the cut begins to hurt. I cleaned it as best I could but there is still chance of infection." He said.

"I will. I think I will turn in for the night." She stood and walked to the other side of the fire where her pad was laid out. Before she lay down she turned back to Merlin.

"Merlin, thank you. For everything." She smiled.

"Goodnight Amora." He went to lie down. He was beginning to like her more and more.

Gwaine stood guard that night watching his sister sleep. He swore that he would never let any harm come to her again. While Merlin and Amora were talking Arthur had come over to him. He apologized for not telling the truth about who he really was. He told Arthur the truth about everything. His father, his mother, what happened to him and Amora. He told Arthur how he could have never been a knight under Uther. He didn't trust that Uther was noble in heart. Nobility was much more than a blood right to him and he lived by that. Arthur was not upset at the things he said about his father. This was one of the things he admired in Gwaine, he was not afraid to say the truth about someone. After Gwaine had finished his story, Arthur looked at him.

"I'm not saying that I'm not upset by your actions, but I understand them. But, don't ever lie to me again. I need to trust my knights fully and I cannot do this if there are secrets among my men." He gave Gwaine a small glare.

"I swear to you that it will never happen again mate." Gwaine replied.

"Alright. Elyan will relieve you in a few hours. I'll see you in the morning." Arthur patted Gwaine on the shoulder and headed to bed.

Gwaine looked back to where his sister was sleeping. She was back, finally, after searching for years fate reunited them. Maybe things were going to get better now.

Little did he know that their journey was not over yet.


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks to all of you who have added this story to your favorites. Please review though; I want to know what I can do to be a better writer. Ok so there is going to be some talk of wounds in this chapter so it will be rated T. Sorry. Here it goes.**

**Chapter 5**

It was a fairly quiet morning; the smoke was rising from where the fire had gone out hours before. The men were beginning to stir as they began to wake up. Elyan was already awake as he had relieved Gwaine for guard a few hours ago. Lancelot was the first one to fully wake up, he went over to Elyan.

"No trouble last night I take it." He raised his arms above his head and stretched.

"None; gave me time to think about what happened yesterday though." He looked over to where Gwaine was sleeping above his sisters head.

"It was unexpected. But Gwaine had his reasons for not telling us. Arthur seemed upset though." Lancelot knew that Arthur needed to trust his knights above all else. He understood why Gwaine had never told anyone who he really was. He felt nobility was more than just a fancy title; it was how you act when no one is looking. While Gwaine was defiantly one for a good time, he was willing to sacrifice himself for anyone.

"Yea, well I would be a bit upset too if I were in his place. They will get over it though. Arthur will come around." Elyan hoped this would be the case; Gwaine was too good a man to lose.

"Well, we better start packing up camp. I'll wake up Merlin." Lancelot went and shook Merlin awake.

One by one they all began to wake up. Gwaine rolled onto his back and stretched his arms above his head, not realizing how close Amora was to him. He punched his fists right into her head. He pulled his arms back quickly. "Sorry, Rora."

He rolled over to see that she was still asleep; she was always a light sleeper, like him. It was strange that she didn't wake when he hit her. He got up and went to crouch down behind her. He shook her shoulder, "Up you lazy daisy." Still nothing. He shook her a little harder.

"Amora?" She was starting to wake up but she seemed to be a bit hazy.

Rora, time to get moving." She opened her eyes and saw a somewhat concerned Gwaine starring at her.

"Oh, sorry. I'm up." She sat up but as she did she felt incredibly dizzy. She grabbed Gwaines arm to steady herself.

"You alright?" He helped her too her feet, noticing that she was a bit unsteady.

"I'm fine; it has been a trying few days. I just need to get some rest when we arrive in Camelot." She seemed to be standing a bit better; she did still look rather tired though.

"We will be there in a few hours; you can stay in my chambers until we get one set up for you."

"Alright, well let's get moving." She packed up her things and tied them to her horse. She didn't have very many belongings with her. Some money that she had sewn into a hidden pocket in her saddle, a nightgown, a green dress, and a chainmail shirt that Bayard had given her as a gift. It was lovely, the mail was small and it was a lighter color than most. It had a high collar that cut down at her neck so that her pendent could be seen. It had matching wrist guards and gauntlets as well as a corset that held it closely to her body. He had also given her a burgundy riding coat to wear with this. She treasured these items because it reminded her that he had valued her not as a lady but as a warrior. She hoped that she could achieve a similar reputation once she settled in Camelot.

Once everyone had woken and packed they rode out. Arthur wanted Gwaine to ride with him so they could continue their conversation from the night before. Lancelot and Merlin rode behind them, still catching up on what each other had been doing before they all joined forces against Morgana. Percival rode with Amora, talking about the villages they grew up in. Leon and Elyan rode in the back, not really talking but just keeping an eye out for any trouble.

They had been riding for a few hours and Amora was feeling worse, she was cold and was feeling very light headed. She pulled her warm velvet cloak closer around her and placed the hood on her head. Her arm was sore and was burning, she knew that she should say something to Merlin but she just wanted to keep riding and get to Camelot and a warm bed. She just could not shake the feeling of dizziness that had her swaying a bit in her saddle. Percival noticed this and became concerned.

"My lady, are you feeling well?" She had her hand on her brow and was looking rather tired.

"Percival, I have told you to please call me Amora. I don't like titles." She gave him a small smile and saw that he was still waiting for an answer.

"I'm just feeling a little tired. I have been riding for many days now." It was true, but she just didn't want to admit that she felt so horrible. She was a warrior; she should not be feeling faint.

Ahead of the Arthur had noticed that Gwaine was not acting like his usual self. They had talked about everything and Arthur understood fully why Gwaine kept his true identity a secret. He was a good friend to Arthur and he owed him his life on several occasions.

"Did you put ale in your water skin again?" He gave Gwaine a crooked grin and waited for his reply.

"No, I learned my lesson that time. I guess I'm just more tired than I thought. I'll go see Gaius when we return." He didn't feel horrible but he was a little groggy. It was probably nothing. He shrugged it off and kept an eye out for bandits.

They were about four hours out of Camelot; they had taken a small break to rest for a bit and were riding off again. After a few minutes Amora began to feel shaky and weak. She knew that she had to say something to Merlin about it. He was riding ahead of her with Lancelot still. She cleared her throat, "Merlin, what was it that you told me to look out for with my arm?"

He turned to look at her and noticed she looked a little pale and she seemed to be shaking. "Ah, pain in the cut, dizziness and chills. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm just a little light headed; it's probably from riding so much though. I'll be fine." She held up her head and gave a look of confidence but Merlin was not fooled. If she was anything like Gwaine she would be stubborn about any injury to herself. "We can stop and I can take a look at your arm." He said.

"No, we will be at Camelot soon." Her words had become quiet and a little slurred. She had begun to lean forward in her saddle and had begun to sweat around her fore head.

"Amora? Are you alright?" Merlin asked with more seriousness in his tone.

Percival had an eye on her and noticed that she had begun to sway. Before he could do anything she had fallen off of her horse and hit the ground unconscious.

"Amora!" Percival had leapt of his horse as well as Lancelot; they were at her side in seconds.

"Arthur." Merlin cried. He grabbed his meager medical supplies and rushed over to her.

Arthur and Gwaine turned at the commotion; they got off their horses and ran back to where the knights and Merlin were.

"Rora! What happened?" He looked to Percival who had turned Amora onto her back gently. Lancelot had taken off his cloak and had placed it under her head.

"She said that she was just tired, and then she collapsed off her horse." Gwaine was at her side and swiped some hair out of her eyes.

"Merlin she's burning up, what's wrong?" Gwaine was terrified; he had never seen his strong and confident twin be this vulnerable before.

"It might be her wound; I need to look at it." He pushed her cloak off her arm and started to unwrap the bandage he had put on her yesterday. As he pulled it off he began to notice her arm was red and swollen. Once he had the bandage fully off several of the men gasped at the sight before them.

Her wound had turned black between dried blood and the infection that had set in. Now that the bandage was off it started to bleed again. There were red streaks under her skin and puss was oozing out along with blood. It was hot to the touch and her arm was swollen to almost twice its size.

"That's not a scratch." Gwaine said "Is there anything you can do for her?" He looked to Merlin, panic and fear etched on his usually confident face.

"The wound is badly infected and she had a fever. The best thing for her is to get back to Camelot as quickly as possible and to keep her warm." As he said this he had wrapped fresh bandages around the cut, and blood was already seeping through.

"Got it, I'll carry her with me." Gwaine scooped her up in his arms and began to stand up, only as he did so he was overcome with dizziness and he soon fell to his knees. Arthur grabbed his elbow to steady him and Percival grabbed Amora to make sure she did not hit the ground again.

Merlin looked to his friend "Gwaine, are you alright?"

Gwaine sighed, it had been many years since he had felt their connection and had forgotten how much it could affect him. "We have a kind of bond, when she is hurt I feel a mild form of her pain, it is the same for her. Neither one of us has ever been this bad before, I will be better when she is well." Merlin helped him to his feet and he got onto his horse. He looked to Percival who still held Amora close in his arms, Lancelot's cloak had been wrapped around her. She was so pale and she looked so small in Percival's large arms.

"Hand her to me." He held out his arms for her.

Elyan looked at Gwaine, "Are you sure you can carry her?"

Gwaine shot a deadly glare at Elyan and turned back to Percival. With as much forcefulness he could muster he spoke again. "Hand her to me."

Percival walked over to Gwaine and gently handed her up to him. He settled her in front of him and wrapped his arm tightly around her. Her head rested on his shoulder; he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Hold on, please hold on." He whispered to her.

The group had all mounted and they began to ride as fast as they could toward Camelot. Amora began to shake in Gwaines arms, he held her tighter, trying to send his own warmth to her. She let out a small moan and he felt a sharp pain in his right arm, he knew the quick pace they were taking was jarring her wound, but they had to get to Camelot. He was beginning to feel worse and he knew that she was not doing any better. They had turned a four hour ride into a two hour gallop and the walls of Camelot became visible before them. Gwaine let out a small sigh of relief; he only hoped that Gaius would be able to help her.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm on an updating roll here! Here is chapter 6 for you. Please review and enjoy**

**Chapter 6**

As the party rode through the streets of Camelot people moved out of their way, noticing they had a lady with them who looked a great deal like the knight who held her in his arms. A few made comments to friends or people near by, but the look of urgency on Prince Arthur's face made them clear a way for the knights.

They finally entered the citadel and made their way to the courtyard. Lancelot had been leading Armora's horse, as he dismounted his own he grabbed her satchel that was tied to her saddle. He grabbed a passing servant and asked them if they could take the horse to the stables. He walked up toward Arthur.

"I'll go and tell Gaius what's happened." He told Arthur.

"Alright, we will be there shortly." Arthur walked over to Gwaine, who was still on his horse. Gwaine was starting to look rather pale and tired. Arthur had never heard of anyone being effected by a siblings injury before. Of course, Gwaine and Amora were twins, and in fact the first twins that Arthur had ever met. It was not uncommon for twins to be born, but it was uncommon for both to survive.

"Gwaine, hand her down to me." He waited for Gwaine to slowly and gently pass her to him.

Arthur held her in his arms and noticed that she was shivering and that she had gotten paler. He waited as Gwaine got off his horse, knowing that he would want to carry her up to Gaius. Merlin was beside Arthur as was Percival, as Gwaine got of his horse he began to stumble. Merlin grabbed his friend and put his arm around his neck.

"Thanks, mate." As Merlin began to help Gwaine walk toward Arthur he began to crumble under the weight of the larger man.

"Oh for goodness sake, Percival?" Arthur handed Amora to Percival and went to give Merlin a hand. Merlin really needed to gain some strength. He placed Gwaine's other arm around his shoulder and noticed how weak his friend had become. He could barely stand on his own; he was worse then when he was drunk.

"Has this happened before?" Arthur asked.

"I've never been like this before. Course, neither one of us has been this bad off before." He gave a small sigh and looked at his sister.

"We need to get them to Gaius." said Merlin. Percival headed up to the physicians quarters. He looked down at the woman in his arms. She was still shivering, he held her a little tighter and adjusted her so her head was resting against his chest. It seemed so wrong for someone so strong to suddenly be so weak. He was mesmerized by her still, no matter how weak she seemed at the moment. He was worried for her, he had seen people die from infections. He didn't want this to happen to her, for the sake of his friend and because he didn't want to never see those beautiful green eyes open again. Before he realized it he was at Gaius's door, he pushed his shoulder into the door and swung it open.

"Percival, set her on the table." He gently laid her down and took a step back.

"You can help her right?" Percival asked.

"I will do my best. Lancelot, can you fetch Gwen? I will need her help." Gaius was gathering supplies and setting them above her head.

"Of course." As he left he bumped into the trio walking through the door. Merlin and Arthur were practically dragging Gwaine in. They managed to get him to the bed and set him down. Merlin walked over to Gauis to see what he needed.

"Will she be alright?" He asked.

"I don't know yet, was Gwaine injured as well?" Gaius noticed the pale complexion of the strong knight and was concerned.

"No, he mentioned there some kind of bond between them, they feel each others pains he said." He noticed that Gaius had a small look of surprise on his face.

"Twins?" He asked

It was Gwaine who answered him "Yes, and I would like to keep it that way. I've already lost her once, I can't go through it again." He gave the physician a serious look.

"Of course, Merlin will you unwrap the bandage?" He asked.

"Sure." Merlin took off the cloaks that she was wearing, both had a good amount of blood soaking the area where her wound was. The sleeve of her pale blue dress had turned dark with blood, no wonder she was so pale, he thought.

Gaius had gone over to his shelf of potions and came back with a thick yellow liquid. He handed it to Gwaine.

"Drink this, it will help with the dizziness." Gwaine took the bottle and looked up at Gauis.

"Thanks, is there anything I can do?" He drank the potion and gave a look of disgust as it went down is throat.

"No, but it would be best if you and Arthur waited outside." He said.

"I'm not leaving her." He pointed to his sister and gave Gauis a deadly stare.

"I will be able to help her better if I do not have anyone in my way." Gauis said sternly.

Arthur put his hand on Gwaine's shoulder "Gwaine, he's right. Come on."

Gwaine shoved Arthur's hand off his shoulder and stood up so he was face to face with Arthur. "Perhaps you didn't hear me Princess, I'm not leaving."

"You can't tell me what to do." Arthur yelled and gave him a shove.

"Watch me." Gwaine punched him in the jaw. Percival ran forward and grabbed Gwaine's arms to hold him back. Arthur flew back in shock; when he caught his balance he drew his sword and held it at Gwaine's chest.

Just at that moment Gwen walked in the room. "What's going on!" She was shocked to see the sight before her. Not only were Merlin's hands covered in blood standing over who she assumed to be Gwaine's sister, but Arthur and Gwaine were ready to kill each other.

"Arthur what are you thinking?" She yelled. He turned to see her looking quite furious.

"Stay out of this." He turned back and placed his sword where it had been.

Lancelot, Leon, and Elyan walked in and were standing behind Gwen.

"Arthur, what's going on?" Leon had never seen Arthur this mad since he had almost killed his father.

"Are you really going to run me through?" Gwaine taunted.

"Gwaine, shut up." Elyan yelled.

"I said I wasn't leaving and I mean it." He yelled at Arthur.

"Gwaine this is nonsense." Gaius said.

"Arthur, think about what your doing." Gwen said, she had walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. 

"He thinks that he can just shove me around? He lies to me, then he yells at me, then he punches me." He yelled.

Merlin cried "Both of you, stop."

Arthur turned an angry glare toward him. "What?"

"I'm serious, quiet." He said.

Everyone was so shocked at the tone that came out of the usually happy servant. Once the noise had stopped they noticed that he was looking down at Amora.

"S..top." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Gwaine shook out of Percival's grasp and went to her side. Her eyes were barely open and she was breathing heavily. He placed his hand on the side of her face. "Rora?"

She took a shaky breath, "S..stop, figh..ting." She gave her brother the strongest stare she could manage.

"Alright, you just have to get well." He was starting to get tears in his eyes, she looked so bad. This was not his sister. She was strong; stubborn, she had to be alright.

"I...lve you...Gw-ine." Her eyes fluttered shut as she slipped into unconsciousness again.

Gwaine's heart dropped to the floor. "Amora? Rora!" Panic was in his voice.

"Everyone out of here now! Gwen, I need fresh water." Gaius commanded.

Percival grabbed Gwaine's shoulders and lead him out to the hallway. He set him down on the floor and took a step back. Arthur was standing against the wall, Elyan had gone with Gwen. Lancelot and Leon were standing beside the door. Gwen came back with a pail of water and rushed into the room. Gwaine took a deep breath and leaned his head against the wall.

Arthur looked at him and he slowly felt his anger fade. He knew how he felt, when Morgana had fallen down the stairs and almost died he was beside himself. He loved her like a sister, of course come to find out, she was and she had betrayed them all. But before everything had gone so wrong he had been in Gwaine's position before. He remembered standing out in the rain hitting a practice dummy so hard until he had it in pieces. He would have done anything to keep her safe. Now that he thought about it, he knew what it felt like to have his sister taken from him as well. He understood the feeling that you failed to protect the person you cared about most in the world. He took a breath and walked over to sit beside Gwaine.

"I'm sorry Gwaine. It might sound strange but I know what you are going through." He kept his eyes on the wall before him.

Gwaine let out a sigh "I'm sorry too, mate. I shouldn't have hit you."

"No, you shouldn't have, but I understand why you did. You had to hit something right." He gave a small laugh and looked at Gwaine.

Gwaine laughed a bit, "Yea, it was either you or the wall, and frankly you were the better target."

Arthur laughed. He let out a breath "She'll be alright." He placed his hand on Gwaine's shoulder, trying to offer some comfort to his friend.

Gwaine took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I hope so mate. I won't lose her again."

The group stayed in that hallway, waiting. They didn't really talk, they just waited and hoped that Arthur was right.

**I hope you all are okay with how Gwaine and Arthur were kind of going at it. I just felt that Gwaine was probably freaking out a bit, just how Arthur was when Morgana was dying. So hope you forgive me for making them go at it. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is the next chapter to Nobility Defined. Please, please review and give me some pointers on what you think could be better or what you like. I am new to writing anything and could use some help. Thanks again for reading this and hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Chapter 7**

Though the Knights of the Round Table had only known Amora for a short time, they all had grown quite attached to her. She was feisty, spirited, beautiful, elegant, and a hell of a fighter. Gwaine had become a good friend to all of them. While he would drive them all crazy when he came back from the tavern, they all knew how fiercely loyal he was to all of them. For them to see him so worried and serious was making them all feel worried for Amora.

With the exception of Percival, none of them had met a set of twins. They were all equally shocked to see how close these two were not only in appearance, but how close they were to each other. Gwaine had told them about the connection they have and it amazed them. Two people who were so close that they could feel the others emotions and pains. It was for this reason that when Gwaine, one of the fiercest men in Camelot, began to seem weak and strained they feared for how his twin was doing.

While they all sat in the hallway outside of Gaius's chambers, the trio inside was rushing around grabbing potions, bandages, and other supplies.

"Merlin, I need honey." Gaius said. He had cleaned the wound and had stitched it up quite nicely, he doubted there would even be much of a scar.

"Got it." Merlin handed Gaius the small jar and stood by.

He desperately wanted to heal her, but he knew that not only would Gaius strongly oppose this, but he could do nothing with Gwen in the room. He looked over to where she was, she was sitting on Amora's left and was gently dabbing her brow with a cool cloth. He gave a small smile, she will make a great queen one day. She was so compassionate about everyone and she didn't fear speaking her mind when it was necessary.

His thoughts were disrupted when he heard a small moan from the table. Amora had lost a great deal of blood and this caused her to look deathly pale; a far cry from her usual tanned skin. Her trembling had stopped once she was in the room, the fire seemed to help with this.

"Will she be alright Gaius?" Gwen asked.

"I think so. She seems to have bleed out most of the infection. She lost quite a bit of blood, but I think that in a few days time she will be fully recovered." Gaius had finished applying honey to the wound and was bandaging up her arm.

Merlin let out a small sigh of relieve, "That's good, I don't think Gwaine could manage to lose her now that he just found her again."

Gwen looked at Merlin, "What do you mean?"

"They were separated by bandits years ago, Gwaine has been searching for her ever since. She had thought Gwaine was dead. She was found by a patrol of Carleons men in Mercia and has been there ever since." He said.

"How awful. They look a great deal alike." She said.

"Yea, except their eyes. Everything else about them is the same, even how they handle a sword." He grinned as he remembered the mock fight they all witnessed in the woods.

"Gwen, Lancelot brought in a satchel that was on her horse, see if she has a nightgown or another dress to change into. I fear this one is ruined." Gaius noticed how a good portion of the right side of her dress was covered in blood, and not to mention that he had to rip the sleeve even further to tend to her wound.

Gwen went over to the stood where the satchel was, she looked through and found a cream colored satin gown that she assumed was her nightdress. She walked back over to Gaius and set it on the table.

"Help me sit her up." She asked. Gaius and Merlin both gently set her up, her head was resting on Merlin's shoulder.

As Gwen undid the ties on her dress she let out a small gasp. Gaius and Merlin both looked over her shoulders to see why Gwen had reacted as she did. They saw why immediately, Amora had scars covering her back. As Gwen began to remove the dress off her shoulders she discovered more, she had a long scar on her left arm and a scar on her right shoulder.

"Gaius, what could have caused these?" She asked, fearful for his reply.

"I can't say for sure, but the scars on her back look like marks from a whip, the rest I'm uncertain."

Gaius was shocked, he had seen these marks before, but on warriors. Men who were built to obtain such scars, to see them on a young lady was troublesome to the old physician.

Once Gwen had changed her into the clean gown Merlin scooped Amora up in his arms, and carried her to his room. Gaius felt that would be the best place for her to stay until she was well enough to move to better chambers. Gwen followed him to help settle her into the bed while Gaius went out the hallway. He was surprised to see that every knight was waiting with Gwaine.

As soon as the door opened Gwaine jumped up, he was to afraid to speak though. He just looked at Gaius, waiting to hear the worst.

Arthur was the one to ask the question that Gwaine could not, "How is she?"

"She has lost quite a bit of blood, but I think that she has bleed out most of the infection. She will be recovered in a few days." He gave Gwaine a smile.

Gwaine let out a huge sigh of relief, it seemed like he had been holding his breath all this time. The rest of them were all relieved as well, they were glad for their friend.

"Thank you Gaius, I can never repay you." Gwaine smiled at him.

"Of course, I am curious though. Do you know how she acquired so many scars?" Gaius asked, thinking surely he would know.

"Scars? What scars?" Gwaine had never know her to have any scars, other then the one on her knee from when she fell in the brook.

"She has scars covering her back, and several others." Gaius said.

"What kind of scars?" Gwaine was confused, why would she have scars?

"I can't say for sure." Gaius tried to cover the fact that he knew most likely what had caused the scars on her back. He didn't know how Gwaine would react to the news that his sister had been whipped.

"Gaius, please. What happened." Gwaine asked him. He could tell that Gaius was trying to hide something.

Gaius looked down at the floor before meeting Gwaine's gaze. "They appear to be from, a whip." He said slowly.

A flash of anger went through Gwaine's face, somehow his sister had been whipped. He pushed his feelings aside for the moment, he just wanted to see her now.

"I can see her now?" He asked.

"Of course, she is in Merlin's room." Gaius watched as Gwaine walked to the small room in the back.

Arthur turned to Gaius, "How could she have been whipped?"

"I don't know, Sire. The scars on her back appear to be a few years old, the other scars seem to be more recent." He answered.

"She's been whipped numerous times?" Percival asked, horror covered his face.

"No, it appears she was only whipped once, the other scars seem to be more like battle wounds." Gaius replied. "I need to go collect a few supplies. I think you should all go get some rest, you have had quite a journey." Gaius walked down the stairs and into the courtyard.

The knights too began to disperse. Each wondering what could have happened to their friend to have caused such marks. Arthur however, went into the physicians chambers. Gwen was inside, she was cleaning up the mess that they had created. He went over to her and placed a small kiss on her head.

She turned to him and he noticed she was blushing, even after they had become open with their relationship she still blushed when he kissed her.

"How is she doing?" He asked her.

"She still has a fever, but Gaius thinks that she will recover."

"She will, she has Gwaine's stubbornness." Arthur replied with a small smile.

"I've never seen him so serious before, it's so, unusual." She said looking back to where Gwaine could be seen sitting by his sister.

"I know." He looked to where his friend was sitting in a small chair beside his sister. He looked so unlike his usual self. He was leaning back in the chair, his arms across his chest. He was just starring at Amora, no hint of his usual confidence was on his face. It had been replaced by the worry of a brother. It was this that made Arthur go into the small room. Merlin was tidying up the room, he never really had people in his room so it was very unclean. Arthur walked past him and went to where Gwaine was sitting.

"You should go get some rest." He told him.

"No thanks." Gwaine's voice was just above a whisper, he was tired but he didn't want to leave.

"I can stay with her. You should get some sleep." Arthur tried again.

"Thanks but no, I'm not leaving until she wakes up. I'll sleep right here." Gwaine looked at him, he was no longer angry, he was just worried that something would happen if he left.

"Alright." Arthur turned to leave, he gave Merlin a look and nodded his head toward the door.

Merlin took a look at Gwaine, "Do you need anything?" He asked.

"No." Gwaine replied, he was still looking at Amora.

Merlin turned to go out the door when Gwaine called to him.

"Merlin?" He asked.

Merlin turned back to his friend. "Thank you." Gwaine gave him a small smile.

Merlin smiled back at him and gave him a nod. He turned and closed the door.

Gwaine stayed in his chair for a while, occasionally he would reach forward and stroke his sisters hand. Sometimes he would get up and just walk around the room, trying to get his mind off things. Night came and the city began to sleep, Amora had been unconscious for almost a day now, and Gwaine was getting more worried. He went back to the chair, he leaned forward and held her hand.

"Rora, you need to recover." He gave a sad look at her still face, he just needed to see her open her eyes. He stayed like this for a while, then after a few hours he settled back into the chair and fell asleep.

The sun was rising in Camelot as Gwen came into Gaius's chambers. Even though she was titled now as she did not mind taking care of others. She had been caring for Uther since Morgana, she did it not for herself but because she loved Arthur and she wanted him to know that his father was in good hands. She wore a simple but beautiful dress, it had long cream colored sleeves with a teal colored overlay to it, she wore this with a simple brown tie around the waist that fell down the front of the dress. It was perfect for her, she had grown up a servant and while she was a lady now, she just couldn't bring herself to wear the fancy kinds of dresses like Morgana used to wear.

She was carrying a thick blanket that was from Arthur's chambers, it was a large fur cover, he thought that it would be best used keeping Amora warm. She also had a tray with her, on it was a plate with some cheese, bread and some meats. There was a small bowl of cream soup and a glass of water. She set the tray down on Gaius's table and took the blanket up to the room.

She opened the door slowly and gave a small smile at the sight before her. Amora was still sleeping, though she did have more color to her than the day before. Her injured arm was draped across her stomach, her left hand however was covered by Gwaine's. He had fallen asleep on the bed, his head down by her side. Gwen walked quietly toward the siblings and lightly touched Gwaine's shoulder, he looked up and noticed that Amora was still not awake. He turned as he noticed the was a small hand on his shoulder, he saw that Gwen was behind him.

"Morning, my lady." He said, he leaned back into the chair and ran his hands through his hair.

Gwen sighed, "You don't have to call me that." She began to unfold the fur and draped it over Amora.

"I know, but I like it. It suits you."He gave her a smile.

Gwen blushed as she smoothed the fur over Amora, making sure she would be comfortable. She finished and walked back over to Gwaine.

"I brought you some food, I though you could use something to eat." She said.

"Thanks but I'm not hungry." He replied, he really was, he just didn't want to do anything except concentrate on her getting better.

"Gwaine, you need to eat. You haven't left this room since yesterday. I have the food just outside the door, you will still be here." She was speaking to him in such a calm and soothing manner that he finally gave in.

"Alright." He got up and followed Gwen to the table. He started to eat and realized just how hungry he really was. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Arthur told me everything. I can't even begin to understand what the past few years must have been like for both of you." She said.

"You're not upset about the whole noble thing?" He looked at her and waited for her reply.

She gave a smile, "No, to be honest I would have been more shocked if you had been a noble this whole time, your not exactly like the rest of them."

Gwaine gave a small laugh. "I never thought that I'd become a knight, or that Amora would become a lady. I guess fate has a different idea in mind for us."

"You two are very close, aren't you." Even at their best her and Elyan had never been half as close as Gwaine and Amora. She hoped that one day they would be, but only time would tell.

"Well, when you spend months in the womb together you have to be close." He said.

They both began to laugh. Gwen was beginning to see him relax a bit more and become his usual self.

They sat talking for about an hour, Gwen would ask him some questions about his past, Gwaine would ask her about Arthur and how she was settling into her new role. They were laughing and enjoying each others company when they heard something.

"Gwaine." Amora said softly.

He shot up and ran back to the room and sat on the bed. She looked like she was starting to wake up, she was breathing deeper and was moving around a little.

"Rora?" He anxiously waited for her to open her eyes, then finally after what seemed like hours her eyes began to slowly open.

She took in a deep breath and looked around the room. Her eyes finally landed on her brother and she gave him a small smile. "Why do you look like hell?" She asked.

Gwaine began to laugh, she was going to be alright, if she could make jokes about his haggard appearance then he would allow himself to finally relax.

"You nearly died, so yea, I look like hell." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. When he finally pulled back she tried to sit up only to realize that her arm was still very sore.

"Ah!" She gasped as pain shot up her arm.

"Careful; you've got quite a scratch on your arm, sis." He added a strong emphasis on scratch and she noticed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be this bad." He helped her sit up so her back was resting against the wall behind her.

Amora then noticed the beautiful woman smiling in the doorway. She brought her a glass of water; Amora took it with her uninjured arm and drank nearly all of it.

"Thank you." She looked at Gwen and smiled.

"Rora, this is the Lady Guinevere." Gwaine said

"It's nice to see you feeling better, and please call me Gwen." She shot Gwaine a glance of annoyance at her full title.

"Thank you, please call me Amora, he doesn't like to use my full name." She replied.

Gwen looked at him "I'll go fetch Gaius." She started to walk out of the room.

"Gwen, thank you." Gwaine said. She smiled at him and walked out to find the physician.

"She seems nice." Amora teased to her brother.

"She is, but she's in love with Arthur. She didn't fall for my charm." He said with a grin.

"Well, she's the first." Amora teased. They both began to laugh. When they settled down Gwaine gave her a serious look.

"Amora, how did you get so many scars?" He asked.

The smile fell from her face, she had hoped that he would never find out about them. "How do you know." She suddenly found the fur on her lap very interesting.

"They found them when they were changing your dress." He said.

"Who's they?"

"Gwen, Merlin, and Gaius, the court physician." He replied.

"I don't want to talk about that right now." She said.

"Rora, you can tell me." He had never known her to keep things from him.

"Gwaine, please. Not right now." She gave him a pleading look. She was saved by Gaius and Merlin walking into the room.

"Lady Amora, I'm glad to see that you are doing better. I'm Gaius." He walked over to her and gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you. Merlin, I should have told you, I'm sorry." She said.

"I should have know that you were keeping something, Gwaine does the same thing." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Gaius checked her wound, it was healing nicely, the swelling and redness had gone down and her fever was gone.

"You are doing much better my dear, you gave us quite a scare." He patted her leg and got up from the bed.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"You came in trembling, unconscious, bleeding, and you had a high fever. You've been unconscious for more than a day now." He told her.

She looked at Gwaine, if she was that bad then he must have been affected. "Were you alright Gwaine?"

"I was pretty dizzy and out of it until Gaius gave me something." He said.

Gaius looked at them "The connection you two share is quite rare, I have never encountered twins with such a deep bond. You best get some more rest my dear, you lost quite a bit of blood and will be weak for the next couple of days." He said.

"Thank you Gaius, Merlin." She said.

Gwaine helped her settle back down into the bed and she fell into a restful sleep. Unaware of the darkness that would come her way shortly.

**I'm sorry this has taken me a while to upload, I was having some major writers block :-) You know the drill, please review. Let me know if you want to see something specific happen and I will try to put it in, I'm open to ideas.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back! I am so so so so sorry for not updating sooner there are several reasons. a) I was having a hard time finding a way to depict Ragland, he is a dark character and I was having a hard time with that. b) I have been sick for several days. And c) this whole writing thing is kind of a secret from my family, I don't know how they would feel about me doing something other than my music or business. So I have had to wait until the right time to wright everything. I'm so sorry. **

**Please be warned this is a dark chapter at first with some descriptions of abuse and murder. I'm sorry but I hope you understand why. Please review and above all, enjoy.**

**Chapter 8**

Just past the forest of Ascetir in Camelot; in the kingdom that had been Cenred's was an old abandoned fortress. It had been built long ago to guard the border between the lands as war was constantly whispered between these kingdoms. To make sure that no one would pass the border from Camelot unnoticed, this had been built. However, years of hardship in this kingdom had taken it's toll on this fortress and it had become abandoned.

As the years passed a slave trader named Jarl had decided to take it and make it his own personal fortress. A place where he could hide those he or his men had taken and sell them to the highest bidder. It was a cruel place to be taken too, those who survived the treatment of the guards were either offered a place among Jarl's men or they were killed. Those who looked like they could make good money were tossed into a pit so they could not escape. Jarl would look for entertainment with these men, he would make them fight until one was dead, and then would continue this throughout the group. Those who survived were sold as slaves, if that could be called survival.

Once word had spread that Jarl had been killed by a sorceress in Cenred's castle, bandits began to look at the fortress as a perfect hideout. One man, however, took over the fortress and all it's inhabitants. He was a skilled fighter and a confidant man, his group of trusted men were each as skilled as he was and were men to be feared. This was not a group of everyday bandits, this was a small army of dangerous men with no morals. There were assassins, murderers, rapists, thieves, and men who just enjoyed violence. They were men to be feared but their leader was worse then all of them, he was a man who enjoyed killing. He craved bloodshed, the terror that people got in their eyes before he killed them.

He had fallen into this path as a young boy, he would bully the other children in the village and slay animals in the night. His younger brother followed in his footsteps and these boys were feared by all in the village. Their parents did not care what the boys did, their mother was too worried about their father to ever think of them, and their father was too drunk and angry at their mother to lift his hand at them.

One night their father came home in a drunken rage, pulled the dagger from his belt and went over to where his wife was sleeping. He plunged his dagger into her chest and when her eyes opened in shock he gave her a cruel grin and pushed the blade deeper into her chest and watched as the life faded from her eyes. He then turned to the two boys who were watching from their bed, he grabbed the younger one from the bed and began to bring the dagger to his neck. The older brother grabbed the dagger that he kept hidden under the bed and quickly ran behind his father and plunged the blade deep into his fathers back.

That was the night that he knew he craved death; the color of crimson blood and the elation that he got from it. It had been many years since that night and he and his brother had grown to become some of the most feared men in the land. Until one day when they had captured a girl to sell to the slave trader Jarl, after they had some fun with her of course.

The older brother, Ragland had been waiting in the camp for his younger brother, Jaal to return. They had seen two riders earlier that day, a man and a woman, they were dressed like peasants but the woman was beautiful, Ragland wanted her. So he sent Jaal and some men out to kill the man and capture the girl. When they got back to camp the girl was kicking and trying to escape Jaal's grasp, it was no use. Jaal threw her on the ground before Ragland's feet and roughly tied her hands behind her back.

Ragland bent down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"You are a feisty one, I can work with that." He said.

She spit in his face and glared at him. She never even saw his hand as he slapped her across her face, pain flared through her cheek as she silenced the cry that threatened to escape her lips. She would find a way out of this and kill these men for what they had done to her brother.

Ragland grabbed her by the throat and lifted her to her feet, he heard her gasping for air and enjoyed it.

"You will obey me by the time I am done with you." He snarled at her.

He threw her to the ground and walked into his tent as she was coughing and gasping in the air that he had deprived her of. When he came back out she had regained herself and was on her knees just looking at him. She showed no fear in her eyes, only anger; this intrigued him. Normally men would cower at him, women would cry and try to push themselves away from him. But this girl just stared at him, he didn't like it, he wanted her to fear him. He walked over to her and grabbed her by the shirt she was wearing; he dragged her over between two trees and tied her to them. Her arms were stretched above her head, tied to a rope between the the trees. The men had started to gather around her, some would make rude remarks, some would grab at her and some would just stare, longing to have her to themselves.

Ragland stood in front of her, his arms across his chest and a whip hanging from his hand.

"You do not seem afraid girl." He said.

She just continued to stare at him. Ragland looked to one of the men surrounding her and gave him a nod, the man walked up to her and before she even knew what was happening he had punched her in her gut knocking the wind out of her. She leaned forward and tried to catch her breath while the men were laughing at her.

Ragland walked closer to her. "You should be. What's your name girl?"

She spit at him again and this time she knew what would happen, he gave a nod to a man on his left and as he began to take a swing at her she lifted her legs and kicked him in the chest. This got several gasps and sounds of anger from the men surrounding her and Ragland was furious. Who was this girl that she not be afraid of him, that she would spit at him and assault one of his men. He cracked the whip in his hand and silence fell around them, that's when he saw it. For just a second, fear flashed in her eyes; an evil smile crept across his face and he began to circle her.

"You know, I'm actually impressed by you. Here you are surrounded by bloodthirsty and deprived men and yet, you have the gall to fight back. It is a stupid choice but impressive none the less. Tell me, what have we done to deserve your wrath." He said sarcasticlly.

For the first time she spoke. "You killed my brother." She snarled at him. Anger full in her face as she stared at Jaal, the man who's sword had killed Gwaine.

Ragland saw this and he smiled "So my little brother killed yours, hmm? Oh well, your brother was useless anyway, he couldn't even live long enough to defend you, he would have been no good to us."

At this Amora began to struggle against her bindings, trying to get to Ragland so she could kill him.

"You bastard! He was more of a man than you could ever hope to be." She cried.

At this Ragland drew up his whip and cracked it around her side. Air escaped her lungs once again as sharp pain crawled along her side and back. Several of the men began to cheer and anticipated more. Ragland smiled at the look of pain on her face and that feeling of elation began to surface, he loved to see people suffer by his hand.

Once she had caught her breath she glared at him. "When I get down, I will kill your brother and you will watch as I do it."

She knew that her words would earn her more lashings and more pain, but she didn't care. She didn't have Gwaine to stop her, she no longer cared what happened to her, she just wanted to last long enough to kill the one called Jaal.

Something inside Ragland snapped, no one threatened his brother. He cracked the whip down on her back and the cheers from the men began again. He didn't hear them though, all that he was listening for was a cry of pain from the wretch before him. When nothing happened he did it again, harder than before. Still nothing, he hit her again, nothing. He kept going until he wasn't even counting anymore, he was just watching her body twitch as the whip cracked down and watched as her body slowly began to sag. He wanted to keep going, her shirt had become ripped and stained with blood, this was the part he craved. Finally he drew back his whip and cracked it down as hard as he could and finally a cry escaped her lips. He raised his whip to lower it again when he heard his name.

"Ragland! Enough, we still need to fetch a price from her." Jaal said.

Ragland looked at his brother and then back at her and knew he was right. He could torture her more later. He dropped he whip and went to face her. He smiled at the sight of her, her head hung as she was slowly catching her breath. He grabbed her chin and raised her head so he could see her face, her eyes showed pain and he could see lines on her face from where tears had fallen. Still she had only cried out once, he was impressed with her, she was strong. But this was not a trait that he admired in her, he hated it, he wanted her to fear him.

"I will have some more fun with you later." He said.

As he turned to walk away he paused, then he turned around and threw a powerful punch to her temple, cutting the skin as he did so. Her body sagged as she fell into unconsciousness, he pulled out his knife and cut the rope above her head. She fell to the ground with a thud; he kicked her in the side to see if she really was out. When she didn't move he ordered some men to tie her to a tree and followed his brother back to his tent.

The next morning he awoke to a large battle cry, he ran from his tent to see a patrol of knights in Mercian blue raiding his camp. He took his sword and began to fight all the while keeping an eye on his brother, making sure no harm came to him.

Ragland was still fighting by his tent when he noticed that one of the knights had set the girl free. She had grabbed a sword and was fighting against his men. How she was able to fight after what he had done to her he never understood, she was killing his men and he could only watch in horror as she came to his brother. He quickly killed the man he was fighting and tried to make it to his brother. Before he could make it another knight had engaged him in a fight. This knight was good, Ragland was having a hard time keeping track of Jaal and fighting the knight.

Suddenly he heard a horrible cry, he looked toward his brother and saw that wretch holding a sword in his brothers chest, she thrust again and ran him through. The bloodied sword sticking out of his brothers back sent Ragland into a rage. He killed the knight and ran to kill that wretch, slowly and painfully. Before he could reach her a young knight had grabbed her arm and was leading her to a horse, in that moment Ragland made a choice to hunt her down later and he ran to his brother. He caught him just as he was beginning to fall, the sword still in his chest. Tears were welling up in Jaals' eyes as pain coursed through his body and blood began to fill his mouth. Ragland pulled the sword from his chest and Jaal cried out in pain.

"It's alright, Jaal. I've got you." Ragland said.

Blood was coming out of Jaals mouth as he tried to talk, between the blood he was finally able to say his finally word.

"Rag..." Blood spitting from his mouth as he tried to say his brothers name. He began to shutter and cough, blood running down his chin. He tried to breath but no air would come, a burning sensation was filling his lungs as they were craving the oxygen he so desperately needed.

"Jaal, just hold on a little longer. Don't leave me yet." Ragland was beginning to get tears in his eyes, the only person who had ever mattered to him was dying all because of a stupid girl's vengeance. He felt Jaal's body as it began to get heavier and the life began to leave his eyes.

"No, hold on." He cried. But it was too late, he brothers body sagged and his head fell over his arm, limp, eyes still open in shock; dead.

Ragland pulled his brothers body closer to him, anger filling his every fiber. She had killed him, she killed his brother. He threw back his head and screamed too the sky, vowing to himself that one day she would pay.

Amora awoke with a start, gasping as she tried to get over the nightmare that she just experienced. Only it wasn't a nightmare, it was her memory. Her memory of Ragland and what he had done to her. She would never admit it to anyone but she was terrified of him and she still had not told Gwaine what had truly happened that day.

"My Lady?" servant said. The girls name was Ella, this was her first job and she enjoyed being maid to Amora. She had only been with her about a week but she liked Amora and was beginning to figure her out, though this was the first time Amora had woken in such a way.

"Ella, it's alright. Just a nightmare." Amora said. "I don't think I'll be going back to sleep though."

She sighed, she had been in Camelot for almost 2 weeks now. She had mostly recovered from her infection, though she was still sore in her arm. Once she was strong enough to walk Gwaine and Merlin had taken her to her own chambers. She was only a few doors down from Gwaine and was amazed with her room. It was larger than the one she had in Mercia and was much nicer too. The four poster bed was covered with a deep purple blanket and had a white fur at the edge of the bed. She had a vanity and a wardrobe and a small area with a table and some chairs. Ella kept it decorated with flowers that made the room smell like a meadow.

As a catch up for all the birthdays missed Gwaine had gotten her a several new dresses. They were not overly fancy but were just what she liked, there was a deep green velvet dress that had lavender bands around the collar and hem of the dress and a lavender rope to tie around the waist. The sleeves were cinched at the elbow with the same band while the rest of the sleeves draped down to her knees. She had a red dress that open past her waist to reveal a rich gold satin skirt, the sleeves were also trimmed with the same fabric, it had a hood that could be attached that was red with gold lining. She also had a dress similar to the one that had been ruined, it was a light blue that laced up her sides with a purple ribbon, the sleeves puffed out at the shoulder and was accented with a purple lace around the elbow. The rest of the sleeves were laced around her arm with a purple ribbon. She also had this same dress in a deep gray color with silver and red ribbon. This was the dress that she wore with her armor, it was a simple dress that could stand to be wore while riding and it looked very good with her long maille tunic. He had also gotten her several new cloaks and capes for each dress. While she didn't like the fact that he had spent so much on her, she really like these new dresses.

Ella helped her get into her red dress and attached the hood, she did her hair with two braids on each side and tied them behind her head with a gold ribbon.

"Beautiful as always My Lady" Ella said.

"Ella, please. No more lady nonsense." Amora smiled at her a took her hands. "You must call me Amora."

"Alright, My...Amora." Ella blushed by calling her so.

"Well, shall we go and see what Gwen is up too?" Amora stood and strode torwards the door, excited to see Gwen. They had become fast friends and spent most of their time together, when she wasn't tending to Uther. And when she was, Amora would go to Merlin and secretly help him with his chores. She didn't care that she was a "noble" and he wasn't. She enjoyed his company and the banter that seemed to roll of his tongue.

As she walked down the hall she bumped into Percival, literally. They both had turned the corner and collided with the other.

"Amora, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Percival steadied her and quickly dropped his sleeveless arms to his side.

Amora laughed, "I'm fine, what about you though, I do not know my own strength and could have injured you." She smiled.

Percival blushed and they laughed together. He had come to visit her several times while she was recovering, each visit Amora found herself more drawn to him. He was so kind and gentle, and it didn't hurt that he was incredibly handsome.

"I'm actually on my way to the training grounds, Arthur wanted to get an early start today." He said.

"Ah, well perhaps I should step in and give you all a challenge." She said. She did want to train with them but she had to wait until the time was right to talk to Arthur about it.

"Perhaps, I could use a good woman by my side." Percival stopped, his face had turned a brighter shade of red the Amora thought was possible. "I mean by our side, a woman by our side." He tried to recover but the words had already been said.

Amora blushed, "Of course. I best be going. I need to find Gwen." She began to walk past him when he stopped her.

"Amora, wait." The large knight was staring at the floor trying to get the courage to speak.

"Yes?" She waited in anticipation.

"I was wondering if you would accompany me on a ride today, there is a lovely brook with some wildflowers. Of course if you have other things to do I understand." He was kicking himself for asking her, of course she had better things to do, she was probably still settling in. But she proved him wrong.

She walked back to him and placed her hand on his chest, he looked into her deep green and gold eyes; he could look into them forever.

"Percival, I would love too." She gave him a sweet smile.

Percival smiled from ear to ear, "I'll come for you when we are done with training then?"

"I'll be waiting." She replied. "You best get going before Arthur notices your late."

"Of course, until later then." He took her hand and kissed it, noticing her cheeks blush. He turned and went to the training grounds.

Amora was spinning, she had never felt this way about someone. She ran to find Gwen as quickly as possible. She had so much to tell her. Her nightmare was all but forgotten as she thought of the day to come.

**I know it was kind of long and was a dark chapter but I wanted to get across how dark Ragland really is. There will be more of him to come. I know that some of you wanted Merlin and Amora to get together, and they still might, but for right now this is where I see this story going. But there will be plenty of Merlin/Arthur/Amora/Gwaine action to come I promise. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please review. :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Back again with another chapter. Hope that you enjoy this one. Who else can't wait for the series 4 premier tomorrow night! Please enjoy and review, reviews are always good for a new writer :-) So here it is.**

**Chapter 9**

There were few things that Sir Tristan regretted in his life. He was a confident man and a strong warrior, so when he felt that he had made a wrong choice, it was not a welcomed feeling. He was regretting his decision to leave Amora behind early and head back to Mercia alone. He knew that she was safe but he did not know how long that would last.

Only an hour after he had bid goodbye to Amora he had been surrounded by a group of rather vicious looking men. He knew the odds were against him and he surrendered, again another choice he regretted. Only when he reached the old ruins of an abandoned fortress did he truly realize just how much of a dangerous situation he was in.

He was taken to the dungeons and chained to the wall, after a few hours of being left to his own thoughts a man walked through the cell door.

"Well, if it isn't Lady Amora's little guard dog." Ragland sneered.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Tristan demanded. He was staying calm but the unsettling look in this mans eyes were making him nervous.

"All in good time. But first I want to know about you. What do they call you?" Ragland asked, a mock kindness in his tone that sent chills down Tristan's spine.

Tristan contemplated answering him for a moment, this man was fishing for something. He wanted Tristan alive, for now, otherwise he would already be dead. That means he wanted something, something only Tristan knows and what scared him the most, is this man knew about Amora.

"Sir Tristan of Mercia." Came his short reply.

"Ah, Sir Tristan of Mercia, that is unfortunate. I really hate knights from Mercia." With that he punched Tristan in the stomach with as much force as he could gain. Tristan was coughing and gasping for air.

"You see, they are linked to the death of my brother, they set free a girl who ran him through with no remorse or hesitation. A girl who is called Amora, who is actually a noble in Mercia. So you understand why I hate you now." He grinned.

As he was talking, recognition dawned on Tristan's face, "Ragland." He growled.

"You know of me, good." Ragland gave him an evil smile and pulled out a knife. He ran the knife along Tristan's cheek, drawing blood. Tristan flinched and growled in pain but didn't cry out.

"We are going to have some fun now, you are going to tell me where you took Lady Amora and every detail about her new life. If you answer the questions truthfully, I will kill you quickly and without much pain. However, if you lie to me, you will be begging for death from the torture you will endure. What will it be?" He asked.

He enjoyed this part, finding out who a man truly is. If he abandons his morals in the face of death or if he holds to them. Either way he will shed this mans blood soon, and truth or lie he will die painfully and slowly, just because Ragland enjoyed watching a man be tortured and killed.

Tristan held Raglands gaze and after a long breath answered, "Go to hell."

Ragland gave an evil grin, "I was hoping you would say that."

He raised the knife and slowly began to cut it down Tristan's chest, and as hard as he tried, Tristan could not hold back his screams.

It had been nearly two weeks since Ragland's men had brought Sir Tristan to him and the man still would not relent. Ragland had done unimaginable things to him, whipped him, cut him, burned him, strangled him, and even took his manhood from him. Still this man would not tell the location of that stupid wretch.

But, Ragland finally found something that he knew would break him. Earlier that day a small family had come by his men. The brutally killed the father and teenage son while the mother and young boy watched in horror. His men brought back the mother and boy; Ragland knew immediately how he would use them.

They were bound and were following Ragland to the cell that had almost become a second home in the past weeks. The guard opened the door and the man following Ragland shoved the woman and child into the cell.

Sir Tristan looked up from the wall that he was still chained too, blood covering his face and body. He saw the woman and child trembling on their knees in front of him and was beginning to fear why they were here.

The woman was sobbing quietly, she seemed to be a merchants wife by the way she was dressed. She didn't have the look of a peasant but was not as fine as a noble. The young boy was trembling but seemed to be in too much shock to cry.

"I've brought you some company." Ragland said as he smiled.

"We've killed the father and the older son and have brought these two in here as a chance for change." He stated. He walked over and crouched in front of the mother.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Marie." She answered, her voice shaking from fear.

Ragland looked to the boy. "And what is your name, lad?"

"Ewan." He said, his voice shook a little but he was holding a gaze with Ragland.

"Sir Tristan, have you decided to tell me where Lady Amora is?" He asked as he walked behind Marie and waited.

"I will never hand her over to you." He said in a tired and breathy voice.

"I see." Ragland said. And before Tristan even knew what was happening Ragland unsheathed his sword placed it to Marie's back, and plunged it through her chest. Her scream was mixed with his own as he watched her fall to the ground, eyes open and staring at nothing.

Ragland walked behind the boy and placed he sword at his back. "Where is Lady Amora?" He asked.

Tristan looked at the boy, tears were running down Ewan's face as he stared at his mothers body. Tristan was a noble man, not in the sense of his title but in his morals. No matter how much he wanted to protect Amora, the woman who had been with him through many trials; whom he would die for, he could not let this boy die in her place.

"I'll tell you, leave the boy alone." Tristan said wearily.

Ragland's evil smile chilled him to the bone, "Where is she."

"Camelot." Tristan hung his head, shamed that he had betrayed Amora, but at least the boy was safe. For now.

Amora was in her chambers, Ella had helped her with her hair so that she had a braided crown and the rest of her hair had been loosely pinned up. She had changed out of her flat shoes and into a tan pair of boots that had a slight heel to them and buckled up the side. One final look in the mirror and she was ready to leave.

As she left her chambers she came across Merlin, he was grinning and his smiled got even bigger when he saw her.

"Amora, you look beautiful. I...wow." He was beginning to blush.

"Thank you, Merlin. I am going for a ride with Percival." She said.

"Oh, well shall I accompany you to the courtyard, my lady?" He said offering his arm to her.

She laughed "Of course, my lord." They began to walk to the courtyard.

"I'm not a lord, Amora." Merlin said with a grin.

"If you call me lady, I call you lord." She replied; giving him a smile.

"So, are you and Percival, um, together?" Merlin asked.

"No, we are just going on a ride. I'm not really ready to be with anyone, and I don't think Gwaine is either." She said.

Merlin laughed "Yea, I don't really see Gwaine giving you up anytime soon. But you do care for Percival?" He asked.

"I think so, I've never really cared for anyone other than Gwaine and Tristan; I obviously was not romantic with either of them. I've never felt like this before." She slowed her pace as they neared the courtyard.

"Merlin, can I ask you something?" She looked at him.

"Of course." He replied, time had begun to slow as he was caught in her eyes. They really were mesmerizing.

"Have you ever been in love?" She asked.

Merlin looked away, the memories of Freya were so fresh, especially after he had seen her again. It had reminded him of just how much he had missed her.

"Once, she died." He looked back at her, sadness in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Merlin." She placed her hand on his cheek.

He smiled at her, over the past few weeks they had become fast friends, they spent time together almost everyday and had come to know her almost as well as he knew Gwaine. He was beginning to care for her even though he knew nothing could ever come of it, gods is this what Arthur felt like?

He cleared his throat softly, "I think Percival is waiting for you, Amora."

She removed her hand, "Oh, of course. I better go." She gave him a small smile and began to walk outside. Merlin followed shortly behind, he stood at the top of the steps as she walked to her golden horse, always the warrior her sword was strapped to her saddle. Percival was finishing tightening his saddle when he saw her and gave her a huge smile.

The rest of the knights were all in the courtyard, Gwaine saw Merlin on the steps looking strangely at his sister. He went up to him.

"Alright there, Merlin?" He asked.

"Yea, everything's fine." He gave Gwaine a cheeky grin but he wasn't falling for it.

"You look like you're watching someone." Gwaine said.

"What, no." He replied.

"Cause if you were I wouldn't mind." Gwaine said, giving him a crooked grin.

"Really?" Merlin was shocked, he didn't expect to hear that.

They both watched as Amora got onto her horse and started to leave beside Percival. Before they even left the courtyard though a commotion began to happen. A man came riding in on a horse with a body draped across his lap, the palace guards were running in behind the man, swords drawn. At this all the knights in the courtyard drew their swords and surrounded the man. Merlin and Gwaine ran down the steps as Percival jumped off his horse and joined the rest of the knights. Amora had her hand on her sword, waiting to see what happened.

"I have a message for Lady Amora." The man cried, arms up in surrender.

The Knights of the Round Table held their ground, not looking to the girl they had all come to care for and respect. The only gaze that fell on her was Gwaine, he shook his head slightly, indicating to her that she was not to move.

Arthur spoke, "What business do you have with her?" He demanded.

"I'm not going to harm her, I just want to talk with her." He said.

Sir Leon spoke up "Why should we trust you when you have just barged into the citadel with a body."

The man grinned "You should check again; the body is still breathing, for now."

"You've brought him for medical attention?" Percival asked.

"No, he'll be dead soon, which is why I need to speak to Lady Amora right away." The man replied, he was starting to get angry.

This time a lighter but demanding voice spoke through the knights, "I'm Amora, what is it you want?" She held her sword in front of her, ready to attack if necessary.

The man gave a cruel smile, Gwaine was ready to chop off this mans head if he looked at her like that again.

"I remember you, girl. It's been so many years since you were hanging between those trees. I can still smell your blood as it flung through the air. Tell me, is your back horribly scarred?" The man sneered.

Amora had begun to pale but she drew her sword higher and ran to the man, pointing her sword at his chest.

"How do you know that?" She demanded.

"Aww, don't you remember me girl. I was the one who struck you first, I still remember how you was hanging. Your body all stretched and pretty, we all kept hoping your shirt would rip off so we could see the rest of you." He grinned.

Gwaine began to run at the man, but was held back by Leon. Arthur looked at the man forcefully, "Watch your tongue."

Amora pressed the sword closer to his skin, "What message do you have for me?"

"I'm to deliver him to you and to tell you, he knows where you are now. I'd get ready if I were you." The man grabbed the unconscious man by the bloodied shirt he was wearing and tossed him to the ground.

"He's your warning, you'll end up ten times worse than him." At this the guards had seized the man off his horse and were hauling him off to the dungeons.

Gwaine ran over to his twin "Are you alright?"

Her voice shook a little "I'm fine."

Arthur came up to her "You know that man?"

"In a way." She replied.

During all this Merlin had gone to the man so roughly tossed to the ground, seeing if he was indeed alive. He felt a weak pulse and his breathing was shallow, he was still alive. He looked at the mans face and froze, they knew this man.

"Amora." Merlin called.

She went to him and saw how he was looking at the man, the poor man had obviously been tortured, he was covered in blood and his once blue shirt was ripped and stained. As she looked closely she recognized the shirt, it was the Mercian Knight's tunic. At this she looked into the mans face as she knelt beside him. Suddenly she gasped as she recognized him.

"Tristan!"


	10. Chapter 10

**As promised here is another chapter for you. I hope that you enjoy it. By the way, who else thought the series premier for Merlin was amazing! Anyway, here you go. Enjoy and please review :-)**

Sir Tristan was so tired, but he was still awake. He could hear things around him, yelling and swords being unsheathed. He heard a man talking about a message for Amora, what message was that? After some muffled words he heard a clear and commanding voice, Amora. How did he make it to Camelot?

The last thing he remembered was telling Ragland where Amora was to save the boy's life. As a reward Ragland beat him senseless and from the intense pain he was felling in his stomach he was stabbed as well. After that everything was a blur, but he knew the only place Amora would be was in Camelot so he must be there.

Suddenly he was grabbed by the collar and tossed to the ground; sending pain through out his body. He tried to cry out in pain but he couldn't, he was so tired. He heard more yelling and then a soft voice calling to him.

"Tristan." Amora said

That was Amora, he would recognize her voice anywhere, he had to warn her, he had to explain why he betrayed her. He suddenly found the strength to open his eyes.

"'mora." His voice was weak but he was able to talk.

"Gods, Tristan what happened?" Amora's eyes were filling with tears, he must look awful if he was causing her to cry.

"Ragland...he knows." He was trying to warn her but he was having such a hard time focusing.

"Shh, it's alright. Just save your strength, I'll need you beside me." Tears were escaping her eyes as she tried to reassure him, knowing that he was beyond saving. He was so beaten and was loosing so much blood.

"No, I have...to tell you. He was going to kill...the boy if I didn't...tell him where you...were." He was coughing, he was beginning to taste blood in his mouth.

"Tristan, what boy?" She asked.

"He took him...killed his family. He's still there...Ragland knows...where you are." His vision was growing dark but he had told her. He only hoped that she would stay safe.

"It's alright Tristan, nothing will happen to me. I can take care of myself, you taught me, remember?" She smiled at him.

"Please...stay safe. You have been...my closest friend...Amora." He was beginning to feel numb, he couldn't even feel her warm hand on his face.

"Please, don't give up Tristan. I need you to hold on." Amora was having a hard time fighting back the tears as she watched the only friend she ever had slowly dying before her.

"Amora..." He looked into her green eyes as his world faded, and he knew no more.

Amora watched as the light left his brown eyes and his breathing stopped, but she didn't want to believe it.

"Tristan?" She shook him gently, trying to bring him back.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, it was probably Gwaine but she couldn't bring herself to look. She shook him again.

"Tristan?" She was trying not to breakdown in front of the knights, the warrior in her knew not to show emotion when a man dies, but this was Tristan. How could she not cry when she had just lost her truest friend.

She felt another hand on her shoulder, this one was strong and heavy. The owner of the hand knelt down beside her and turned her face to him. It was Arthur, she saw sadness and anger in his eyes.

"He's gone, Amora." He told her gently, he could see the tears that she was holding back and knew that she was close to breaking.

"Merlin, take Amora to her chambers." Arthur said.

Amora shook her head "I can't leave him like this."

"We will give him a proper burial. Please, go with Merlin." Arthur told her.

Gwaine helped her to her feet and placed a kiss on her head. Merlin came and gently took her arm and lead her away from the scene. As they were leaving they could hear Arthur giving orders to take Tristan to Gaius and for the knights to meet in the council chambers immediately.

Amora felt numb, she barley noticed as Merlin lead her through the corridors to her chambers. Ella tried to talk to her but Merlin just shook his head at her, she left the room as Merlin set Amora down at the foot of her bed. He knelt in front of her and placed his hands around hers.

"Amora?" He said. She had not said a word and he was worried that she was in shock.

She slowly looked into his blue eyes, tears falling from hers, "He was my truest friend. He rescued me." she said quietly.

"I'm so sorry." He said. He knew how she felt, he had lost those who were close to him and knew that feeling of emptiness, that you would never see them again.

Finally she could not hold in her tears any longer, she began to cry openly and didn't care that Merlin was there. Merlin stood up and sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. She fell into his embrace as her body shook with quiet sobs. Once she had finished crying she stayed there, wrapped in his arms, comforted.

After a while she pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a shaky breath and walked to her window. The guards were already building the pyre for Tristan's body. Merlin watched her for a moment and then asked what had been plaguing his mind since this all began.

"Who is Ragland, Amora?" He asked.

"A barbarian who kidnaps people to either torture or sell into slavery." She said, anger clear in her voice.

"What does he want with you?" He asked her.

She took a deep breath and turned to him. "I killed his brother out of revenge, he had killed Gwaine, or so I thought. He's been hunting me ever since."

"Was he the one who gave you those scars?" He asked quietly.

It took her a moment to answer him and when she did her voice shook with anger. "Yes."

They sat in silence for a while before Amora cleared her throat and walked over to where her sword and dagger were. The dagger had been another gift from Gwaine, it was long with a gold hilt and their family crest pressed into the blade. She began to strap them around her waist, it was a stark contrast to the flowing red and gold dress that she was wearing.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked as he walked over to her.

"I'm going to the council chambers." She replied.

"Armed?" Merlin asked. It wasn't unusual by any means for swords to be in the chamber but for a lady to wear them was strange.

"I'm going to be ready for him. He will find me, Merlin." She gave him a serious look before walking out the door, Merlin close behind.

_*Merlin*_

Arthur and the knights were already discussing how to proceed with the situation. Obviously a member of court had been threatened, but not only that, it was their friend who was threatened. There was a mad man who was torturing men for information on her, killing families to get it. And he had killed a knight of an allied kingdom. This man had to be stopped.

Gwaine was fuming for most of the meeting, thinking of the things the bandit had said to his sister. He wanted nothing more than to kill the man then go after whoever this man was threatening Amora. The problem was they had no idea where to find Ragland.

They had been going over ideas for some time when Amora burst into the chamber, sword and dagger at her side. Merlin came in behind her giving an apologetic look to Arthur. Gwaine went over to her.

"Rora, what's going on?" He asked her gently.

"I'm here to help." She replied, looking at Arthur.

"My lady, I don't know how you can." Leon replied, he wasn't trying to scold her, he just really had no idea how she could help.

She had given up trying to get Leon to call her Amora, he was too stuck in his ways to change. "I know Ragland. I know how he thinks and what he will do. I also know where you can find him." She replied.

Arthur looked at her "How do you know this."

She took a deep breath, it was time they knew what had really happened that day she was taken.

"Ragland saw Gwaine and I traveling and wanted me for himself, so he ordered his men to kill Gwaine and to bring me to him. When I wouldn't let him get near me he strung me up between two trees and whipped me, trying to make me obey him. I lost count after a while, when he stopped he knocked me out and tied me to a tree. When I woke in the night I heard him bragging about the things he would do to me before he sold me as a broken women. I wasn't about to let him so I began to peel my back off of the tree so I could fight back in the morning. At first light a group of knights raided the camp and rescued me, Sir Tristan was the one who freed me. I found a sword and killed the man who I thought had killed Gwaine, knowing that he was Raglands brother."

As she finished the knights were speechless and angry. Arthur had his hands balled into fists, Elyan looked disgusted, Lancelot was staring at nothing, Percival and Leon were just staring at her. Gwaine however was red with anger, suddenly he punched the table in the middle of the room, and no one made a comment, they all wanted to do the same thing.

"He's been after me ever since, he followed me to Bayards court and began to threaten them if he did not hand me over. The knights and I began to track him and found his hideout, but before we could do anything his men attacked and killed several members of court and ravaged several of the villages. Bayard decided to send me to Camelot for safe keeping while he and his men tried to figure out how to best handle the situation. I can guarantee you, he will not stop until I am dead by his hand, and nothing will stand in his way."

"You said you know where he is, can you tell us?" Arthur asked.

"I will show you where he is." She replied with confidence.

All the heads in the room turned to look at her, was she really suggesting that she go with them.

Gwaine looked at her, "What do you mean you will show us?"

"I'm going with you." She gave him a determined stare. He ran his hands through his hair as he sighed and tried to calm himself down.

Arthur walked around the table and stood in front of her. "No, your not. You will be giving him what he wants."

"I don't care, I will not allow any more to die on my behalf." She replied sternly.

"Amora, I'll not allow it." Arthur said in an authoritative voice.

"I don't care if you don't allow it. You can't get there without me." She was getting angry.

Percival spoke "Amora, your not a knight."

"The hell I'm not, just because I've not been knighted. I can fight just as well as any of you and you know it." She replied.

"You're not going and that's final." Arthur was beginning to raise his voice at her.

"Perhaps you misunderstood me _princess_, I am the only one who knows where to find him and I'm going with you." She yelled back.

Gwaine grabbed her shoulders roughly and turned her towards him. "No you're not! I don't care how well you fight I will not allow you face him." He yelled at her.

"Damn you! If you hadn't shielded me in the first place none of this would have happened!" She yelled back at him.

He flinched back as if she had slapped him, she realized then what she had said.

"Gwaine, I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean it." She could see the hurt in his eyes. She knew that he blamed himself for what happened.

He let go of her shoulders and turned away from her. "Yes, you did." he said.

She went behind him and placed her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, I don't blame you. It's just, I have to do this Gwaine. I have to end this before anyone else gets hurt." She said gently.

"If you want to go and get yourself killed, fine." He looked at her and walked out of the room.

"Gwaine." Merlin called after him and followed him out of the room; leaving Amora with the knights.

Arthur walked to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "Amora, I know you want to avenge Tristan's death. But, I will not allow you to risk your life, we care too much about you to see any harm come to you."

"I'm sorry, my lord. You'll find him beyond the forest of Ascetir, there is a fortress that has fallen to ruin. It used to be inhabited by Jarl, the slave trader." She looked at him with sad eyes.

Arthur knew this place, it was where Merlin and him had been reunited with Gwaine. "I know it. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"Don't underestimate him, this isn't a usual group of bandits. These men are assassins, rapists, and murderers. They are highly skilled, you will need a small army if you are to defeat them." She told him.

Arthur turned to the knights, "We will leave at first light."

A palace guard walked into the room just then, "Sire, we are ready."

"Thank you." Arthur took Amora's arm and they all walked down to the courtyard.

The pyre was finished, Tristan had been wrapped in a blue fabric in honor of his Mercian heritage. The knights, Gwen and several villagers gathered around to honor him. Gwaine came up to her and pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Rora." He whispered to her.

"So am I." She said.

Arthur took the torch the guard had given him and lit the pyre. After a while people began to leave until it was just Amora and Gwaine.

"Gwaine?" She said.

"Hmm." He looked at her and saw sadness in her eyes.

"I don't blame you, you know." She told him.

"I know, you were angry. I would be too. I would probably feel the same way if anything ever happened to Merlin." He said.

"He's a good man. I am glad that you have a friend in him." She gave him a small smile.

"I've noticed how he looks at you, I think he fancies you, Rora." He gave her a crooked grin.

"What? No, we are only friends. Besides Percival is already courting me." She told him, they turned their back to the pyre and began to walk into the castle walls.

"Not yet, you haven't even had your first outing with him. Besides, he's too tall for you." He said.

"Too tall?" She laughed.

"You barely reach his chest. How would you kiss him?" He teased her.

She slapped his arm. "Gwaine!" She was smiling now, which was what Gwaine had wanted in the first place.

They reached her chambers and he entered with her. Ella was waiting for her.

"Amora, I'm so sorry." Ella went to her and gave her a hug, Amora held her tightly.

When they released each other Amora noticed Gwaine had placed himself at her table with his feet up and was drinking a goblet of wine.

"Make yourself comfortable." She teased.

"Already have." He grinned at her.

"Ella, will you help me change into my armor?" She asked her.

"Of course." Ella went to the wardrobe and got out the gray dress and chainmaille armor.

Gwaine stopped drinking and looked at his sister. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the training field." She answered, she walked behind the screen as Ella helped her change.

"Why?" Gwaine asked her.

"It helps me think, I need to clear my head." She told him.

After a few moments she was ready. The gray dress was worn with black buckled boots, her chainmaille tunic came to a point around the top of her thighs, the leather corset strapped over one shoulder then had buckled straps to hold it in place. The sleeves tucked into the wrist guards she wore and she had a leather belt and scabbard that held her sword and dagger. Her hair had been braided down the back and tied with a leather strap.

"What are you going to do?" Gwaine asked her, he had to admit, she looked quite intimidating.

"Hit a practice dummy a few times and shoot some arrows." She told him as she grabbed her burgundy riding coat, she put her arms through the sleeves and threw the extended coat over her shoulder, even still it only reached her knees.

Gwaine laughed, "That clears your mind?"

"Yes, I was raised by you remember." She smiled at him.

"Some lady you are." He walked with her out of her chambers and down the hallway. He laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" She asked him.

"Nothing, I just never though I would call you lady." He grinned at her.

"I never though it either, or that you would be a knight. What changed your mind? You always said that no noble was worth dying for." She asked him.

"Arthur, he's a good man. He's one worth dying for." He told her. "I better get back to the princess before he gets angry that I'm skipping out."

"I will see you tonight, I want to talk to you before you go out tomorrow." She told him.

_*Merlin*_

Amora always felt relaxed when she had some form of weapon in her hand. She was good with a sword but when she was in Mercia she became an expert marksman, or woman. She was good with a crossbow but she preferred a bow. She stood with her shoulders relaxed and the bow taunt, she took a breath and released the arrow; sending it straight to the center of the target.

She set the bow down and smiled to herself, Tristan had taught her how to properly shoot an arrow. There were so many things that he had taught her, she would miss him more than she could express. She had been on the field for a few hours now and was getting tired. She decided to go back to her chambers, then she would see if Arthur needed anymore information from her. As she walked back from the training field she passed Percival.

"Amora, how are you?" He asked her, concern in his voice.

"I'm fine. Shouldn't you be with Arthur?" She had put up her wall, no emotion.

"We are going back to council within the hour, I'm making sure the stable hands know we will be riding out tomorrow." He told her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about Tristan; you cared for him, didn't you?" He asked.

She fought to keep her emotions at bay "He was my closest friend and aside from Gwaine the only person I have ever cared for." She told him.

"I'm sorry about today, it would have been nice to ride with you." He said.

"It would have been, but I need some time. I can't think of anything other than Ragland going to hell where he belongs." She told him.

"I'm sorry, I must speak with Arthur." She left him before her anger turned to tears.

She decided to speak with Arthur now before council, she quickly found her way to his chambers and knocked on the doors.

"Enter." Came the voice from inside.

She opened the door and saw Arthur sitting at his desk, Merlin was polishing armor at the table. He gave her a small smile and continued working.

"Ah, Amora. What can I do for you?" Arthur asked as he set down his quill.

"I came to see if you needed any more information from me regarding Ragland." She said, she stood tall and confident, the warrior.

"What you have told us has been enough for us to form a plan of attack, thank you." He told her.

"May I ask why you are dressed for battle?" He asked her, he was hoping that she was still not thinking about going out with them.

She gave a sheepish grin, "I was taking out some frustration on practice dummies and targets."

Merlin gave a chuckle, "You are defiantly related to Gwaine."

"Well if that's all, I was beginning to worry that you were still trying to come with us." Arthur said as he stood up and walked to her.

"No, I know that if I go I would cause more harm than not. Can I ask you a favor though?" She asked.

"Of course." Arthur replied.

"Watch over Gwaine, I know that it is not your place to do so, but he is all I have left in this world." She said.

"Gwaine is one of my best knights, I'm sure that he will be fine, but I will look after him." Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Arthur." She gave him a smile and turned to walk out of the room. She stopped at the door and turned back to look at him.

"And Arthur, be safe." She told him.

Arthur gave her a nod and a smile, and Merlin said goodbye to her. She walked to her chambers, her heart heavy with worry over what would happen tomorrow. She should be going with them but she knew that battle was lost. She passed the guards that Arthur had placed as protection outside her chambers. She gave them a smile, they didn't smile in return, they were stone faced and actually quite intimidating. She wondered what Arthur had told them to make them so fierce.

When she entered her room Ella was waiting, she took her cloak and placed it in the wardrobe.

"Would you like to prepare for bed?" Ella asked her.

"Not now, I don't think I will be sleeping tonight. Why don't you go home, you could use a good nights rest." Amora gave her a smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, I can manage on my own." Amora assured her.

Ella bid her goodnight and went home. Amora was looking into the fire warming her room when a soft knock sounded on her door.

"Yes?" She said.

Gwen walked in and gave her a smile "Am I intruding?"

Amora gave a sigh and walked over to her, "Not at all, I could use company right now."

Gwen went to her and gave her a comforting hug "I'm so sorry Amora."

"So am I." They went over to the table and sat down.

Amora opened up to Gwen, she told her everything. About Ragland, about Tristan, and how afraid she really was.

"You know that Gwaine would never let any harm come to you, or any of the knights for that matter. They've all grown quite fond of you." Gwen told her.

Amora smiled, "I know, it's just Ragland is so unpredictable. I know he wants to kill me but I don't know how he intends to get me. He must know that once that message was sent I would not leave."

"Then why did he send the message if he knew it wouldn't do him any service." Gwen asked.

They sat in silence for a moment when suddenly the alarm bells began to sound. Amora grabbed her belt and latched it to her waist, ready for anything. She went to the door.

"What's happened?" she asked the guards.

"Just stay inside, we will take care of it." One of the guards assured her.

She closed the door and turned back to Gwen. "What is it?" Gwen asked her.

"I'm not sure. Unless..." Amora paled, of course. The message was just a way to get one of Raglands men inside, to get to her.

"Gwen is there a back way out of the servants chamber?" She asked urgently.

"Of course." Gwen went to the door quickly and opened it. She gave a gasp and in seconds Amora knew why. The bandit had escaped and now held a sword to them. Gwen backed away quickly as Amora drew her sword.

"Hello again girly, I would drop that if I were you." He taunted.

"What makes you think I would do that." She snarled at him. He gave a loud whistle and the two guards entered her chambers, locking the door behind them.

"What's going on?" She asked them angrily.

"We ain't no guards, we killed them a while ago; we've just been waiting for the right moment to get you to Ragland." One of them said as the other walked behind her.

Suddenly she heard a small cry from Gwen as the other guard pulled a dagger from his belt and placed it at her neck. Amora went to strike him but he pushed the blade harder into Gwen's neck and blood began to run down her skin. Amora backed up, but still had her sword ready. Fear was finding it's way to her heart as she could not think of a way to get out of this.

"Like I said, I would drop it." The man said again.

Amora looked to Gwen once more, the false guard began to run the blade slowly across he neck as Gwen screamed.

"Stop!" Amora cried, she held her arms up and lowered the sword. Gwen was looking at her with terror in her eyes, the cut was not too deep but it was enough the get a good amount of blood running down her neck.

"Now, were taking you to Ragland. He's got plans for you." The man smiled cruelly as he pulled a rag from his pocket and began to walk towards Amora.

She tried to back away but the other guard grabbed her from behind and held her. She struggled and looked to Gwen, the other guard had taken the blade from her neck and hit her with the hilt of the dagger just above her temple. Gwen slumped to the floor as a small trickle of blood came from this new wound.

"Gwen!" Amora struggled harder until she heard a snap, pain shot through her arm as she dislocated her left shoulder trying to escape. Finally the man got the cloth her her face, covering her mouth an nose. The scent was foul and overwhelming but she could not escape it. She slowly began to loose her strength and blackness was closing in on her vision. She finally collapsed in the mans arms. The bound and gagged her and took of through the servants chambers.

_*Merlin*_

At the sound of the warning bell Arthur and the knights dropped all they were doing and waited to find what was happening. Gwaine suddenly felt terrified, but the emotion was not his own, he had no reason to be afraid. Arthur noticed his friend go stiff and a look of confusion on his face.

"Gwaine?" He asked.

"Somethings wrong." Gwaine said.

The knights looked at him "What do you mean?" Lancelot asked him.

"I don't know, just, somethings not right." he said. Suddenly he felt a horrible pain in his left shoulder, he screamed as he grabbed his arm, Arthur went to him.

"What just happened?" He asked him.

"My shoulder it just hurt, there's no reason for it though." Suddenly he understood, they all understood, it was Amora.

Gwaine looked at Arthur, "Amora!" He said.

They all ran from the room swords drawn, Gwaine and Arthur leading the way. They raced through the corridors until they came to Amora's chamber, there were no guards. They all held their swords ready as Leon went to open the door, they found it locked. Arthur looked at Percival, the large knight took a few steps back; took a deep breath and ran at the door. The door burst open as they all ran through only to find no one there, the looked at each other with dread in their eyes. Suddenly they heard a small moan from behind the table, Gwaine raised his sword and slowly walked toward the sound, the rest of the men all ready for attack. As he rounded the table he saw Gwen crumpled at bleeding on the floor.

"Gwen!" He cried. The knights all ran forward, Arthur dropped his sword and ran to her side, he placed her in his lap as he called for someone to fetch Gaius, Percival ran from the room.

"Gwen?" Arthur called to her as she began to stir.

She opened her eyes and they were confused for a moment, then fear filled them as she tried to get up.

"Amora!" She was held back by Arthur, she was dizzy but she was able to find Arthur's eyes.

"Gwen, what happened." Arthur asked, concern filled his voice as he looked at her.

"They took her, the bandit took Amora to Ragland!" Gwen said quickly.

All their hearts filled with dread, the very man they were trying to protect her from had found his way to get to her. And if any harm came to her they would never forgive themselves.

**Sorry for such a long chapter. As I said, I don't have much time to write so when I do it just kind of pours out :-) I hope that you enjoyed and I promise there is some action to come. Please review :-)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello All! I know it's been ages since I've updated anything and I'm sorry if this teased you into thinking the next chapter was up. But good news is that it will be up soon! I ran into a bit of a block on how to continue with Gwaine and Amora, I wanted it to be realistic and not make anyone appear larger than life cause that's not what this is about. However, I think that I have found it and I want to tell you to have hope that the next chapter will be up soon and I can promise some awesome moments. Anyway, check out my other story The Darkest Hours which has just been updated while you are waiting for this one to come up. New chapter soon!**


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